The Night Dreams, But The Morning Sees
by PhreshxxxBear
Summary: On a mission, Sai is raped by Kyuubi in Naruto form. Unexpectedly, Sai finds himself pregnant and the baby is more than likely Naruto's.How is it that he got pregnant? And Why is it that Naruto is denying Sai's child? NaruSai. SemeUke. Mpreg,rape. Enjoy!
1. The Pain

Hey there! This is PhreshxxxBear! I glad you chose to click that button and read my fic. I also want to let you know that the first few chapters are re-edits, so I won't have my little commentary before or after the next few.

Before you start reading away, I want to thank my BETA, Belletrist Word Salad for her awesome job with the editing.

WARNING- Non-con and Mpreg

DISCLAIMER- Do I really need to? This is called a fan fiction. If I owned the show, I wouldn't have to write these on a fan site, I'd make them come true! In other words, no, I don't own Naruto or it characters.

The day had really been exhausting for Sai. Only minutes after returning from a solo mission, Tsunade had assigned him a mission with Team Kakashi, which consequently led to his leg muscles growing sore from hopping from tree to tree.

"So, Kakashi-sensei, what's the mission about again?" Naruto yelled to the captain of the squad. The blonde was restless. He was finally getting a mission after what seemed like ages and it excited him to no end. Sakura merely shook her head and sighed at her teammate's enthusiasm.

"We're going to the Land of Tea to help with security. An important event is happening and they're low on guard. We've been assigned to escort the royal family to and from the event. Nothing too major, but it's our duty to take every mission seriously," he informed. The group nodded at the mission statement, giving their silent acknowledgement.

"Ha! We'll have this mission completed in no time! You watch, Kakashi-sensei!"

"Naruto! You have to worry more about getting the job done correctly, not getting it done fast," Sakura scolded. Sai chuckled as the two began to argue over what mattered the most on a mission.

"Getting it done fast is the most important thing. That way, you keep from getting into more trouble," Naruto yelled over to Sakura, who snorted at the remark.

"Stupid Naruto! The better of a job you do, the less you have to worry. All _good_ ninja should know that." The two's battle formed into an all-out war that went on for about five minutes after sunset before Kakashi finally intervened.

"The mission itself is the most important thing. Focus on that," he stated calmly yet firmly at them both, his patience worn thin. Meanwhile, Sai's legs were at the verge of buckling. Kakashi noticed and called everybody to a stop.

"We'll rest here for the night."

Sai thanked the gods that watch over these lands, but Naruto cursed him. "WHAT? Why, sensei? We're so close!" At this point of Naruto's complaining, Sakura normally would have hit him upside the head and told him to put a sock in it, but that wasn't necessary this time. Sai's deep breaths reached their ears just as Naruto sighed in frustration.

Sai had settled against a tree five feet away, fighting to control his breathing. He put on his faux smile once his breathing stabilized and began to reassure everyone that he was okay. "I'm alright. There is no need to stop. Naruto-kun is right, we are almost there." He tried to straighten up a little more, but his legs gave out on him once more.

"No. You'll be no good to us if you cannot stand, let alone fight," Kakashi replied before reaching into his pouch for his Icha-Icha Paradise and jumping onto a branch of the tree opposite of Sai.

"Sensei's right, get some rest. I'm sure we all could use some." Sakura agreed. She was also tired but not as drained as Sai was. With a smile, she started the fire and put out her sleeping mat.

"UGH!" Naruto shouted as he plopped down next to Sakura, irritation evident on his face. "Well, I guess we could use a break," he tried to persuade himself, though he was still pouting.

Sai nodded his appreciation, the tension in his legs leaving with every moment he sat, his mind wandering back to his earlier mission. It had been a simple mission, but the constant running and jumping after just getting out of the hospital for a broken leg had tired his legs out.

He sighed and looked over at Naruto, who, like Kakashi and Sakura, was asleep. He moved his gaze to the moon, then back to Naruto. Sai had had a crush on the blonde from the moment he laid eyes on him and it crushed him to know that he, Naruto, thought nothing of him except as friends and had a major crush on Sakura instead. Sighing once more, he stood and made his way to a nearby steam he had seen earlier when they had stopped to fill their water canteens. The walk was several minutes from camp, far enough to where he would be alone but close enough to run back to the others if an enemy were to attack.

Settling on a rock along the bank, Sai looked up to see the moon that was still shining brightly and illuminating the water in such a way that it almost seemed like the stream was a river of light. Sai had always loved the moon. It was the ultimate piece of art, visible in both the day and the night. The light it gave off made the dullest of things glow under its influence. And it was also ever changing. Every night, it was a different piece of a painting, a different page of a book, but yet it was always the same moon. It simply uncover a bit more or less of itself that it wanted you to see. That was what made it so unique.

Pulling off his sandals, he dipped his feet into the cool water, which felt great against the sore muscles and blisters that started to form. Feeling a bit more relaxed, he leaned back to lay on the smooth rock. Closing his eyes, his thoughts wandered back to Naruto. How he wished that for once he could be truthful to him and confess to him how he felt. He no longer cared for the affection the other had for Sakura. He wanted Naruto for himself. Opening his eyes, he realized that would never happen and shook those selfish thoughts from his head. No way Naruto would give that up.

The sounds of leaves and twigs cracking roused Sai from his laying position. He looked back to find Naruto appearing from the forest. Confused as to why he was out here, he turned slightly and let out the question.

"Naruto-kun…" he began, plastering on his fake smile. To his surprise, however, the blonde didn't respond with his usual grunt or a smile and a wave. Instead, his eyes remained covered by blond bangs as their owner approached him coolly, a predatory smirk slowly twisting his vulpine features and sending a slight wave of horror through Sai.

"Kyuubi?"

The beast chuckled with Naruto's voice, but with a strange deep undertone. He flashed his cocky smirk at Sai and stepped forward, making Sai step back until his footing slipped. He closed his eyes, expecting a fall but instead felt a pair of hands on his back. He opened his eyes and saw "Naruto."

The brunet was soon in a mad struggle, kicking, punching, biting, doing anything and everything he could to get away from the thing that had possessed the object of his affection. It was clear what Kyuubi's intentions were and Sai wanted no part of it.

"Stop it! I know you want this! I've seen the way you look at my vessel."

Sai continued his mad struggle. It was true that he wanted Naruto, but not like this, never like this…

"Stop struggling, you little fag! You'll only make this harder for yourself," Kyuubi snarled as he threw Sai to the ground. The artist immediately tried to run to the others, but Kyuubi pounced on him with his full weight, holding the other down. He held Sai's flailing wrists with one hand as he unzipped his vessel's pants with the other.

"I've seen the way you look at my vessel. You want him to fuck you, don't you?"

"Naruto-kun!" Sai shouted, trying to reach Naruto. If the blonde could just wake up…

"Shut up!" Kyuubi slapped Sai into silence before unzipping his midriff-exposing top and pulling down his pants and boxers, exposing the painter to the world before positioning himself.

"Know this, human: my vessel will never love you. Not like that. This is the only way he'll ever fuck you."

Kyuubi thrust forward, earning a scream of pain from Sai that turned into a broken sob.

Kyuubi pulled out of the boy, his blood-covered flaccid member dangling as he redressed himself. The nine-tailed beast turned back to look at Sai, who was sobbing quietly as he lay in his own blood.

"Pathetic," Kyuubi hissed as he retreated within a still-unconscious Naruto.

Vision blurring, Sai turned his teary eyes to the lunar celestial body he'd been admiring earlier. In his desperation, he reached out as if to touch it before quietly crying himself to sleep**.**


	2. That You Brought Unto Me

Hey there! Welcome to chapter 2 of the story. Again, like the first chapter, this is a remake and has been edited recently. Recently as in 3/34/10. Yeah, that's pretty recent considering the last time this story was updated was some time last year. Anyways, enough of me blabbing. ENJOY!

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The night passed, along with a horrific nightmare, or so Sai had hoped as sunlight blinded him. But that hope was dashed when a sudden pain jolted through his spine, causing him to hiss through his teeth as he slowly and painfully moved to pick up his discarded clothes, employing every effort to keep his eyes off the unconscious (and thankfully, fully-clothed) Naruto. Slowly limping to the stream, he slowly stepped into the water, eventually submerging himself to rid himself of the dried blood, the other's dried seed…and the feeling of filthiness.

A few feet away, a pair of sapphire-blue eyes snapped open, only to squint at the sudden blinding sunlight. Once his eyes adjusted, he rose, only to find himself not at the camp with Sakura and Kakashi.

"How'd I get out here?" he asked himself. Turning his head, he caught sight of Sai drying himself by a stream.

"Hey, Sai!" he shouted to the other boy, who responded with his usual smile and a wave. The blonde ran over and sat next to the brunet, who flinched ever so slightly at the closeness.

"Hello, Naruto-kun," he said almost in a whisper, not able to bring himself to keep eye contact with the blonde, who didn't seem to notice.

"So, what are we doing out here?"

Sai's eyes widened. How was he to answer that? Thinking quickly, he plastered that fake smile again.

"You do not remember? You have such poor memory. You were trying to climb that tree, but you were exhausted, passed out, then fell on your head. Not only are you dickless, but you're a pathetic excuse of a ninja."

"WHAT?! ALL YOU DO IS DRAW PICTURES THAT COME TO LIFE THAT ARE NOTHING SPECIAL ANYWAY!"

"Just like your dick."

"SAY THAT AGAIN—!"

"There you are," said Sakura, cutting off Naruto's ranting as she approached her teammates. "What're you guys doing?"

"Nothing much," Naruto answered. "Just telling Sai how better I am as a ninja," he said proudly, puffing his chest out.

"I wonder," Sai joked, though only Sakura laughed.

"Well, Kakashi-sensei's on his way now. Pack your stuff so we can get going."

With that, the three of them headed back to camp.

"Where is Kakashi, anyway?" Naruto asked as they finished packing.

Sakura looked around. Not seeing their sensei, she sighed exasperatedly. "I'll go get him."

"Hold your horses. I'm right here," Kakashi said, suddenly appearing from within the forest.

"There you are! We would have been going in circles trying to find you if you didn't come along," Naruto shouted at the man, who ignored it.

"Everybody's here, so let's be on our way."

"Do you suppose we could travel on ground?" Sai piped up. After last night, he knew he could hardly run, much less jump through trees.

He noticed the others looking at him questioningly. "I'm…still a little tired from yesterday," he lied. Much to his relief, Kakashi merely shrugged, leading the way by ground.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was an uneventful two-hour journey before they reached the Land of Tea, where they were given rooms at a hotel that contained an onsen.

"Please enjoy your stay. The onsen are out the door and to your left. They will be available to until the end of your stay. Feel free to use them to your liking." The man bowed and left, leaving the squad to relax until their mission began.

Sakura stood and walked over to the corner of the room, gathering her belongings. "Well, I'm off to the bathhouse," Sakura said brightly before heading to the women's bathhouse. Kakashi left the room as well, only without explanation, leaving Naruto and Sai alone. Feeling uncomfortable, Sai suggested that they too go to the bathhouse.

"Yeah, let's go," Naruto agreed before they gathered their clothes. Walking side-by-side, they reached the men's bathhouse, where they noticed two things as they shed their clothes: the fogginess and the lack of people.

"That's weird," Naruto observed. "Usually, these places are crowded. Oh well, more springs for us!" he exclaimed before jumping into the water, splashing Sai a little in the process. For his part, Sai stepped into the water with more finesse, shaking his head in reluctant amusement at Naruto's antics.

"Isn't this great?" Naruto questioned the brunet as he leaned back against the stone wall of the bath. Sai simply nodded and smiled his faux smile, careful not to let his mask slip and betray his nervousness.

"Hey, why are you smiling?" Naruto asked curiously, sensing something off.

Sai's smile wavered for a split second before he turned back to Naruto. "I thought I explained this to you and Sakura-san. A smile—"

"No, I mean why do you smile when you're not happy?"

Sai turned away, smile still intact. "If I don't, everyone worries. If I smile, they don't have to worry. When I'm unhappy, I'd rather smile, even if I don't mean it, than make everyone worry."

"Humph," Naruto snorted, swimming away. Once the blonde disappeared in the mist, Sai's smile fell and he brought a hand to his aching nether regions. To his dismay, he felt dried blood from where last night's wound had reopened during their journey to Tea.

"Hello, human."

Sai turned to the voice before his eyes widened in horror. Naruto was approaching him, but his eyes were red again…like last night…

The artist slowly backed away, not wanting a repeat of last night, before turning around and frantically swimming to the edge of the bath and scrambling out before Kyuubi sent him sprawling to the floor. Sai tried to stand up but the blonde held him down, spreading his legs apart.

"What do you want, Kyuubi?! You made your point last night!" It was bad enough knowing that the jinchuuriki would never love him like he wanted, but to go through this a second time…

"I did, but there's nothing wrong with a little reinforcement," the bijuu snarled, thrusting forward relentlessly into a struggling Sai.

"Naruto-kun!" Sai implored, desperate, "You have to wake up! Don't let him do this to me again!"

Kyuubi clasped a hand over the brunet's mouth. "Shut up, human!"

The action freed Sai's hand, allowing him to land a punch and causing Kyuubi to release his grip over his mouth.

"NARUTO-KUN!" Sai screamed one last time before collapsing, hoping to get to his friend. The nine-tailed demon fox felt his influence fading as his vessel regained consciousness. "Damn you…" he cursed the artist before Naruto took over completely.

As if from a deep sleep, Naruto had awoken, shocked to find himself naked and on top of Sai, who was also naked. When Naruto began pushing himself off of the brunet, his shock turned to horror when he felt himself inside the former ROOT shinobi. And pulling himself out, horror turned to disgust when he saw his member covered in semen and what had to be Sai's blood.

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These early chapter are pretty short aren't they? Well, not matter, the next chapter is just s click away, so click that way ----


	3. Had brought Something Unto You as Well

"What do you mean you raped him?" Sakura snapped, trying to calm herself as she began healing Sai. She honestly could not understand. She'd come back from the bath and was relaxing when Naruto burst in with an unconscious and bleeding Sai, claiming that he'd raped him. The fact Naruto was just as confused as she was about the situation did not help either.

"I don't know! I was bathing, then I blacked out and when I woke up, I was on top of Sai." Naruto wanted to shout but did not, knowing that would only make the situation worse.

"So, you have no recollection of the incident, but you think it was you because of the position you found yourself in and fluids on yourself and Sai?"

"It must've been Kyuubi," Naruto growled, more to himself than the pink-haired girl. Sakura's eyes widened as she shuddered at the memory of her last experience with the fox bijuu.

"Why do you say that?" she asked, gulping softly.

"Why else would I wake up on top of Sai like that? It_had_to be Kyuubi. That damn fox," Naruto slammed his balled fist in the floor, angry at himself for not having the control over Kyuubi he thought he had.

Sakura honestly didn't know what to think. Clearly, Naruto didn't mean to do something so heinous to Sai. That part brought her some relief. But that didn't change the fact that it was still Naruto. What if Kyuubi took over again during their mission?

The young medic sighed, having finished healing Sai. "Naruto, I'm gonna have to talk to Kakashi-sensei about this." She turned and walked out the door, closing it behind her.

Naruto sighed quietly, unable to think of any objection. He took one last glance at Sai before walking to the corner of the room, groaning as he slumped to the ground and put his face in his hands. He honestly hoped that this whole thing would just blow over, but right now, he had to get some answers from Kyuubi. He meditated, trying to reach the nine-tailed bijuu.

"**What do you want, kit?"**he heard after a minute of trying.

"_Why did you do that to Sai?"_Naruto shouted at the beast inside the cage.

"**Because I was bored…among other things…"**the fox sneered at his vessel. There_was_another reason…but it would be more…interesting if the kit found out for himself.

"_Wha—Kyuubi! What're you talking about? What other things?"_

"**Impatient little kit. Do you honestly think I'm gonna spoil the fun?"**

"_Kyuubi…"_

Naruto retreated back to reality with a puckered brow, not satisfied with the fox's enigmatic response. "Tch. Damn fox." Naruto sighed furiously. His enraged demeanor quickly dissolved when he heard the slightest of sounds come from the painter. Quickly and carefully, the blonde approached the boy, but not too close lest he traumatize him even more.

Sai wobbled to sit up, hissing when all of his weight transferred to his posterior. He carefully positioned himself so that he was as comfortable as he could be, considering what just happened.

"Sai, are you ok?" Naruto cried in worry.

"I—" Sai started but the words were caught in his throat at seeing Naruto. The brunet coughed to clear his throat then tried again. "I'm fine," he assured the other. But he obviously wasn't fine. The boy had just been raped. Who would be fine after what he just went through?

"Um, Sai…" the blonde began, unsure of what to say. "I'm sorry…for…" he couldn't bring himself to continue, 'cause really, how do you apologize to someone you raped? Instead, he could only avert his apologetic gaze from the artist.

Sai was left in confusion. What was Naruto apologizing for? Then it hit him: Naruto knew. Knew what he'd done in his Kyuubi-fied state, that he'd done something unthinkable to someone he considered a friend. Sai quickly placed his faux smile on his features in an effort to mask his already unstable emotions.

"Naruto-kun, I-I'm not angry with you. I…" Sai stopped, unsure of what to say next, for what can you say to someone who raped you, even if it was another part of them? The only reason he didn't fear the jinchuuriki even more than he did was because of his love for him that would remain unsaid. For now, all he could do was sit there and stare at the boy who couldn't look him in the eye.

"Ahem," Kakashi's voice interrupted, much to the relief of both boys. When they turned to face him, he and Sakura both had grim looks on their (visible) features, a sure sign that Sakura had told him everything.

"There'll be some changes on this mission, starting with sleeping arrangements. Sai, for the duration of this mission, you'll be rooming with Sakura, and Naruto, tonight you'll be rooming with me. In addition, Naruto, you'll stay here for the duration of this mission. In light of tonight's events, I'm afraid you'll have to sit this one out." Kakashi hated doing this, but after what Sakura told him, he couldn't afford to take any chances. What if Naruto lost control and went after Sai again? Or Sakura? If Yamato was here, it'd be different, but he wasn't, so this was Kakashi's decision.

The blonde almost protested, but it died on his lips. Kakashi was only thinking of the team's safety. Besides…he only had himself to blame, right? "Alright," Naruto muttered, grabbing his bag as he made his way to Kakashi's room. Once there, he dropped his bag to the floor and cursed himself. In less than 24 hours, not only had he hurt one of his teammates in a way that truly mattered, but that in turn cost him participation in this mission…and maybe whatever he had with Sai, just as they were warming up to each other.

Sai. For some reason unknown to him, Naruto wanted to talk to the brunet, hold him, reassure him that he need'nt worry about the fox. But even if he knew he had Kyuubi under control (which he didn't), Sai probably didn't want Naruto anywhere near him.

Shaking his head of these thoughts, the blonde jinchuuriki set up his makeshift bed and lay down to go to sleep. But just as he was about to close his eyes, this thought raced through his mind before he could thwart it: at least Sai knew he wasn't dickless.

The escort mission had taken them longer that they had first expected. Team Kakashi (sans Naruto) had to escort a variety of guests. The funny thing about the mission was that none of the royal family's enemies knew of such an event in the first place. They had really only been there for show, making it seem like the royal family was worth protecting.

The team had arrived back at Konoha and was currently in the Hokage's office reporting their return. Shizune and Tsunade listened to their report.

"In the end, we ended up only being a façade for the royal family. We were there to make it look like they were important," Kakashi ended his report. Tsunade nodded and leaned back in her chair.

"Any injuries?" she questioned. The team tensed at the question, thinking back to the hot springs. They all had different excuses to make but thought better than to shout them all out at the same time. "No," Sai answered first. He smiled at the Hokage and bowed his head a bit.

"I see," she replied. Something didn't seem right to her. She felt the tension in the air but decided not to say anything. It would not be right to pry on something if they did not feel the need to speak up. besides, she would find out soon enough. After all, she was the Hokage. "Alright," she said as she leaned forward, "You are dismissed. You all look tired, so try to get some rest."

"Shizune," Tsunade started as soon as she saw Sakura close the door behind her, "get me a drink."

Shizune gaped. "But you've already had six drinks, when are you going to get to work, m'lady?"

Tsunade glared at her assistant. "I'll get to work once I get my drink!" she damn near yelled.

"Yes ma'am!" her right hand woman exclaimed as she ran out to get the Hokage a drink.

The blonde sighed as she relaxed once more. She looked at her desk and noticed the newspaper from today, reading the section that had all the winning lottery numbers for that day. Looking at the numbers that looked oddly familiar, she quickly reached into her pocket and pulled out a lotto ticket, placing it under the numbers of the winning ticket on the paper. "I have a feeling things are going to get crazy around here." She said as she back and forth between the winning numbers and ticket, which happened to be a perfect match.

The day had been horrible to Sai. Not only the day, but the past week and a half as well. He had been feeling sick and tired since then, waking at ungodly hours in the morning to go to the bathroom and puke his guts out. He felt sick whenever he smelled smoke or fried onions. Sakura had insisted that he go to the hospital, but he refused. Though people thought that he didn't mind them, he actually held a great dislike for them. They smelled like bleach and were so bland.

Sai woke this morning feeling nauseous like every morning so far. He rushed to the bathroom and relieved himself of the sickly feeling, dry heaving for a minute after his stomach emptied itself. The boy leaned back against the wall opposite of the toilet and sat. His body felt like it was on fire so the cold wall was refreshing until he felt like getting up and taking a shower.

Sighing, Sai picked himself up off the floor and flushed the toilet before heading to his bedroom. He went to his closet and pulled out some casual clothing: a black quarter-sleeved shirt and a pair of black slacks. The brunet walked back into his bathroom area and turned the shower on. The boy lazily stripped out of his pajamas and walked in the waterfall of hot water, relaxing under the warmth and letting it run over him, slowly unwinding his stiff muscles.

After getting out of the shower and getting dressed, Sai decide to take a walk out around the town. He had been cooped up in his house for about half a week now.

He walked out the door and was immediately bombarded with the voice of a loud, blond ninja.

"I want RAMEN!" the overactive, loud-mouth ninja yelled to no one in particular. Sai walked a bit further and discovered Naruto and Yamato accompanied by Sakura and Kakashi. Sai walked down the stairs from his apartment to where the others were standing across the walkway from him. It was Sakura who first noticed him.

"Oh Sai! We were just coming to get you," she said as she raced over to where he was.

Sai smiled. "I see. Where are we going?" Sai looked over to Kakashi and Yamato who were trying to calm the ramen-hungry Naruto. "Well, we wanted to head over to the barbeque but Naruto-baka wants ramen," Sakura said, sighing and rubbing her temple.

"Why don't you go to that new restaurant that just opened, that's where we are headed," a voice from behind Sai interrupted. Everyone stopped their actions to see Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji walking toward their direction.

"Ino!" Sakura exclaimed as she ran to her and proceeded to indulge in conversation.

"Hey Shikamaru! Choji!" Naruto yelled as he also ran over to the other team.

"Hey Naruto," Shikamaru returned the greeting while Chouji simply waved since his mouth was too full with chips to talk.

"Hey guys, we should all go to that new place Shikamaru was talking about," Ino said as she walked towards the group followed by Sakura.

"Okay," Naruto agreed, to Kakashi and Yamato's relief. "Come on, guys!"

The restaurant was a very nice place, earthy but cozy. They all settled in a booth near the back of the building. Everyone made their orders and idle chatter erupted between them all except for Sai and Kakashi who was busy reading his Icha-Icha Paradise book.

"I swear that cat was diseased or something. It just attacked out of nowhere!" Naruto hollered at the group. The day before, he'd been walking when a cat with a bow suddenly attacked him. Everyone started to laugh as soon as he finished the story, making the blond boy pout.

"It's not funny…" he mumbled to himself. Sai merely chuckled at his childish antics. That is, until he smelled cigarette smoke. He looked up to see Shikamaru puffing on a white stick…the kind of sticks that nauseated him.

"I'll be back," were Sai's only words before he rushed of out the door and into a nearby alley where he vomited what little was already in his stomach.

"Are you okay?" Ino asked, concern evident in her voice. Sai spat to rid himself of the acidic taste, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and looked up to see everyone behind him.

"Yes, I'm fine," he began, but was scolded by Sakura.

"No you're not," she retorted, walking to him and grabbing his arm. "We're going to the hospital. You've been like this for like two weeks now and I don't want to hear you say you are fine when you are not." She dragged the artist to the hospital where she placed him in a room and told him to wait for Tsunade. Sai lay down on the hospital bed. He looked up at the ceiling and sighed. Now he was being forced to go though some unnecessary check-up.

"Okay, what's wrong with Sai?," came a familiar voice from outside his door.

"He doesn't have a cold or fever but he's been sick for over a week now," Sakura replied. He heard the first one sigh before rudely opening his door.

"Alright kid, I don't have all day so lay down so we can get this over with," grouched Tsunade with Sakura by her side.

"I assure you that I do not need any—"

"If you did not need to be here, Sakura wouldn't have brought you here. Now, lay down on the bed," Tsunade retorted in a no-nonsense tone. Sai reluctantly walked over to the bed and lay down on the white sheets.

Tsunade ran the usual tests, determining normal body temperature and nothing out of the ordinary with the rest of his body. That is, until she ran a chakra-enshrouded hand over the boy's navel and sensed an unusual presence.

Sai didn't like the Hokage's confused expression. "Is there something wrong with my stomach?" he asked in concern. It couldn't be good if Tsunade of all people was confused about it.

"Sai, I'm gonna need a blood and urine sample," the blond woman continued, ignoring Sai's question before prepping Sai's arm for a blood sample. After the needed sample was drawn (and Sai could breathe again), Tsunade handed him a see-through cup, nudging him towards the bathroom.

"But I don't have to use the bathroom," Sai complained.

"Sakura! Get me a gallon of water. Make that two gallons," she yelled over to her apprentice who simply yelled a "yes, shishou" and ran out of the room. "You're going to stay overnight while I get the results of that blood test and the urine sample," she commanded before practically shoving him into the bathroom.

A minute later, Sakura came through the door of the room, handing Tsunade the water which she then handed to Sai. "Drink up. I'm not waiting long for my sample. Sakura, when he's done, deliver the sample to my office." And with that, she was gone. Sakura nodded then sat on the bed, waiting for the man inside the restroom to finish.

Sai groaned softly when Tsunade forced him into the bathroom. This was ridiculous. There was nothing wrong with him. It was probably just food poisoning or stomach flu. The thought of it being anything else scared him. What if he was ill? What if he had a tumor? He placed a hand on his navel. Maybe there was something wrong. Why else would Tsunade have made that expression when she was checking him?

Thirty minutes after guzzling down the water, Sai felt as if his bladder would explode. He picked up the cup and relieved himself. After washing his hands, walked carefully out of the bathroom with the cup so as not to spill its contents. He looked around and spotted Sakura sitting on the bed looking out the open window. The fresh air felt good on his skin after being in the bathroom for so long with only a vent that blew out lukewarm air.

Sakura became aware of his presence after he stepped into her line of vision. She smiled and murmured an apology for not noticing which Sai waved off, his way of saying it was fine. The pink-haired girl then pointed out the window to the scene that had her thoughts and concentration occupied: a bird's nest. The eggs in the nest. Every so often, the bird would rise from its sitting position and look down at the eggs. "I think they're about to hatch," Sakura said, excitement in her voice. Sai looked out the window in amusement. He'd never seen a bird hatch out of its egg.

"Sakura-san, I have the sample that Tsunade-sama wanted," he reminded her, interrupting her bird-gazing.

"Oh, I'll deliver it right away." She grabbed the cup then sat up to walk out the door. "I'll see you later, Sai," she said as she walked out, making sure to close the door behind her. Sai simply waved at the woman as she exited the room, before turning back to the eggs in the nest. They still hadn't hatched yet. Sai pulled the curtains. He did not want to be looking outside if he was not to be out there.

He lay down on the white sheets and thought since the day was still too early to be thinking of sleep. His hands unconsciously wandered to his stomach. The confused look on the Hokage's face still bothered him. The fact that something was wrong with him, and no one knew what, bothered the boy to no end.

"Well," Sai muttered to himself, seeing as there was no one else in the room to talk to. "I guess I'll be taking a nap then." Sai pulled the sheets over his head and let his mind carry him off to sleep.

The night had passed like the speed of light and the glare from the sun shone through the curtains in the room until they awoke the sleeping painter.

"I see you're up," came a voice from the other side of the room. Sai turned quickly to look at who managed to sneak into his room, only to see Tsunade and Sakura. The artist relaxed a little, but his relaxation was short-lived when a foul taste started to form in his mouth. He did not bother to hesitate as he jumped up from the bed and into the bathroom before he could embarrass himself further (and anger the Hokage) by vomiting all over the floor.

"Told you," Sakura's voice said from the other side of the door.

"I see," echoed Tsunade's voice. "Well, the tests are in so they should explain everything." Sai did not need to see Sakura's face to know that she too was confused. He flushed the toilet and sprayed some air freshener to rid the room of the acidic smell. Sai then walked over to the sink, quickly rinsing his mouth before he walked over to the women in the middle of the room.

"Sai, I have the results," the Hokage stated. She quickly opened the sealed envelope in her hands and sighed, as if she was looking at bad lotto ticket for the second time. "All I'm gonna say is that this is very shocking even to me." She faced the boy in front of her and handed him the results inside.

_Name: Sai_

_Sex: Male_

_Age: 17_

_Symptoms: Vomiting, Nausea_

_Diagnosis: Pregnant_

Sai scanned the results over and over before suddenly unleashing a very uncharacteristic response.

"WHAT!"


	4. And At first I was scared

Sai's breathing became shallow, his face paling even more than usual as his vision became blurry and he slowly slid to the floor, crying for the first time in his life.

Sakura, who had seen the results as well, rushed to her teammate's side, taking him in her arms and leaning his head on her shoulder. "Sai," she breathed as she rubbed his back soothingly and let his tears soak her shoulder, the only way she knew to comfort him.

With a look of sympathy, Tsunade kneeled next to her apprentice and her teammate. "Sai, just know: there are always options," she said softly, making sure the former ROOT shinobi heard her. The response she received was a nod and a choked-back sob.

Giving Sai a pat on the shoulder, Tsunade left the room, leaving Sakura with Sai. After she rubbed the brunet's back a second time, the strawberry blonde lifted him to his bed, placing him under the covers before leaving the room herself, feeling sorry for her friend.

Looking out at the orange and blue remnants of the sky, thoughts of Naruto crossed the artist's mind. The blonde who he'd held a crush on from the moment he lay eyes on him. The one who he (though he was loathe to admit) jerked off to when his pants occasionally tightened. The one who'd drawn out long-repressed emotions. The blonde who was the reason he was in this situation.

Sai blinked back tears that threatened to fall. He already felt that Naruto didn't like him; if he told Naruto about this, the blonde would definitely hate him more than humanly and demonically possible.

Sniffing back tears, Sai looked out the window again. The sky was now a sea of soft blue and purple with a crescent moon. Like that horrible night five weeks ago, he found himself reaching for celestial body before pulling his hand back. How childish.

Just then, he felt light strokes on his belly. Looking down to determine the cause, he took in the sight of his own hand stroking his belly…his unborn child. The tears he'd been holding fell, but they weren't tears of sorrow; this time, they were tears of joy from the thought of carrying a part of Naruto inside him.

Even the moon had stars.

The morning felt more like afternoon to Sai, considering how used he was to being up by seven. After stretching his sore limbs, the brunet fixed the bed (even though he knew the sheets would be replaced) before leaving the room to find Sakura or Tsunade.

Once he reached the head medic's office, he knocked on the door, only for it to be answered by a middle-aged assistant who didn't look happy to be disturbed.

"Can I help you?" she asked, her voice surly.

Sai wrinkled his nose slightly at the old hag's hostility.

"Well?" she asked when she didn't get a response.

"I was wondering if Sakura-san was in," Sai responded, donning his trademark smile.

"Well, she's busy. Make an appointment like everyone else," she snapped, about to shut the door when a familiar voice intervened. "It's alright, Suimo," Sakura said as she stepped out of the office, silently telling Suimo to get back to work. "So what's up, Sai?" she asked after the woman retreated into the office.

"I want to know if I can be released now," Sai asked. He honestly did not want to spend one more day in the hospital.

Sakura looked blankly at him before realizing something. "Oh yeah! You can go, but I have to give you something first. Wait here." She ran into the office, returning with three bottles that she handed to her teammate. "This one's for morning sickness, this one's nutrients for the baby, and this one's iron. We noticed you were a little anemic, so take one every day, alright?"

"…Yes. Thank you." Sai really was grateful to Sakura. She had done so much for him in such a short time.

The pink-haired girl smiled at him before they parted ways, Sakura returning to her office and Sai home. Feeling refreshed by the calm breeze and the warm sun, the artist decided to take the long way home. Days like this made him wish he had a family to enjoy it with, like the people he passed by: the mothers and sons playing in the grass, the fathers and daughters going shopping.

He looked down at his stomach. When the baby was older, maybe he too could spend some time with it: play with it, listen to it laugh and cry, help it through its problems and make it feel love. He…and—

"Naruto." The baby's father. Just remembering that fact made Sai's eyes blur. He loved the blonde. He really did. But that didn't change the fact that this child was a product of a rape. Nor that Naruto wasn't his lover. If anything, Naruto would only be there out of obligation…if he even cared.

The wind suddenly picked up, as if to tell Sai to not worry, that things would work out. With a small smile, Sai decided to do just that; stress wasn't good for the baby.

Once inside his apartment, Sai set the pills on the counter and opened the cabinet, hoping to find something quick and easy to make. The first thing he saw was a cup of ramen, immediately bringing back thoughts of a certain blonde. He had to tell Naruto. He'd almost forgotten that the Kyuubi vessel knew nothing about their unborn child.

No longer hungry, the brunet closed the cabinet and turned to the clock. 3:07 P.M. Still enough time to find Naruto.

The painter leaned against the refrigerator. He wondered how the jinchuuriki would take the news. Naruto was so unpredictable. He could be happy, sad, maybe even angry. Whatever he felt, you'd never know until he did.

Finally deciding on an apple, Sai grabbed such one and walked out to find his blond friend. However he'd feel about it, Naruto had the right to know.

It was an hour later, and Sai had no luck finding Naruto. He'd searched the training grounds, his apartment, and even Ichiraku's. Could it be he was on a mission? With this in mind, Sai made his way to the Hokage's office.

"Hello, my youthful companion! What might you be doing on this glorious afternoon?"

The former ROOT shinobi shuddered at the overly enthusiastic voice, but quickly plastered on his faux smile before turning to the other boy. Maybe it could help him out of this sticky situation.

"Hello, Lee-kun," he said as took a step towards the green bouncing ball of youth.

"Sai-kun. May I ask why you are not training your body on this brilliant day?" Lee asked while stretching his green-clad body.

"I have to see Tsunade-sama," Sai answered as he gradually snuck away.

"Ah! I shall accompany you there. Your flame of youth looks very dim today. Are you ill?" Lee asked as he fell into step with the paler boy.

"Hmm…in a way. I'd rather go to the Hokage's by himself, if you don't mind. It's a private matter and—"

"NONSENSE! What if you were to fall? Or if an unyouthful individual were to attack you right now? I shall accompany you there!" declared the bushy-browed teen.

Sai let out a puff of air. "Alright," Sai consented. He'd wanted to be alone, but the taijutsu expert had good intentions. Maybe his company wouldn't be that bad.

The walk had been surprisingly silent other than Lee greeting fellow villagers. Sai felt himself relax as he walked alongside the jumpsuit-clad ninja. Lee wasn't half bad when he wasn't going on about youth and running into the sunset. Sai frowned. Why didn't he fall for_him_? He was polite and a good fighter. Maybe he was no Adonis, but Sai would've looked past that.

But it seemed that no matter what, no one could replace Naruto's place in his heart. But Sai knew it would never be; he was just Sasuke's filler. Not that Naruto didn't care for him, but once Sasuke was back, Sai would have no place in Naruto's life.

"We are here," Lee said, snapping Sai out of his thoughts to look at the building in front of him. Sure enough, it was the Hokage building. They walked inside and made their way to the Hokage's office.

"Come in," came Tsunade's voice from behind the door before either of them could knock. Pushing the door open, both teens entered. Sai could see it was just another day at the office for Tsunade: a pile of unfinished paperwork and the faint smell of sake.

"Hello, Hokage-sama," Sai greeted with a slight bow, earning a mere grunt in response. Judging from her face, the brunet could see she had a hangover. Another day at the office, indeed.

"I wanted to ask where Naruto-kun was. I haven't seen him anywhere. Have you sent him on any missions?" he inquired politely.

"Hm? Oh yeah. I sent him on a mission. Should be back in a week or two…something like that." The buxom woman looked ready to fall asleep at her desk, not that the painter could blame her; the stresses of being Hokage and a hangover could do that to you.

"I see. Thank you anyway." He turned to Lee who seemed to be satisfied with his good deed for the day and flashed a blinding smile before leaving.

"Any particular reason you're looking for Naruto?"

This question from Tsunade caught Sai off guard. He didn't want her to know that he wanted to tell Naruto about the baby, because then she would figure out that Naruto was the baby's father and the subject of the rape would be brought up.

"No reason," Sai answered her, putting on his trademark fake smile before taking his leave.

Once outside, the smile slipped. He'd have to wait at least a week before telling Naruto. Oh well, at least he'd have a week to mentally prepare. Once he reached his home, he immediately flopped down on his bed, mentally and physically exhausted from everything that was happening.

He gave his belly a final loving rub before drifting off.

The door to Sai's apartment flew open as a certain strawberry blonde busted in, mildly annoyed.

"Sai!" she yelled as she made her way to his bedroom, busting the door open with such force that it was a miracle it was still on its hinges. "Sai!" she called again only to see that her friend wasn't in his room. She sighed exasperatedly and started to walk away when she heard loud retching from the bathroom, causing her to cringe. Carefully, she made her way to the other's bathroom.

"I thought—that those pills—were supposed to stop this—!" he complained in-between emptying himself. Sakura walked over and rubbed his back while flushing the toilet. She couldn't help but feel sorry for the boy even though she knew this was a natural part of pregnancy.

"They usually do. Maybe we can ask shishou while we're at your appointment," she said reassuringly, though Sai still frowned at the thought of going back to the hospital.

"Alright," he sighed. He stood and walked over to the sink, grabbed the mouthwash and poured a capful into his mouth. After a few seconds of rinsing, he spat into the sink and turned to Sakura.

"I'll need a few minutes to get ready. You can wait in the living room," Sai said plainly as he walked into his room to dress. Usually, he'd walk around in the nude, but it would be impolite to be exposed in front of Sakura.

The shower was short. Sai knew he must've been late if Sakura had burst into his home to come get him. After getting dressed, he walked back to the living room, where he saw Sakura admiring his art. Though he'd never brag as such, he was flattered that someone admired his art.

"I'm ready, Sakura-san," he said, walking into the connected kitchenette, grabbing a granola bar from the cabinet before heading towards the door. Sakura snapped out of her daze, blushing a little at the fact that she'd been caught off guard.

"R-right," she responded quickly before jogging to catch up to the artist.

"So, what's this appointment about?" Sai asked, curious. He was sure he didn't need one. He'd been taking the pills Tsunade prescribed for him and he felt just fine.

"Well, we check the basics like your weight and height. Then we check the baby's heartbeat and for birth defects. All routine," she assured him. Nothing bad would happen; Tsunade was the perfect person to see Sai through this pregnancy.

Of course…

"So, when are you gonna…tell Naruto?" she asked in a hushed voice. She knew Sai probably thought about it, but both needed to know what to do about their friend.

"I haven't had a chance to tell him. I looked for him last week, but he was on a mission. I want to tell him, but I'm…nervous?" Sai questioned the alien emotion he was feeling; the last month had been hell on him physically and mentally.

"I see," Sakura responded. They arrived at the hospital before any more conversation could be had. The next thing he knew, the strawberry blonde rushed him into a room where an annoyed Tsunade was waiting.

"There you are! I've been waiting for almost twenty minutes!" To Sai, that wasn't worth complaining about, but were he to voice such a thought, it would've resulted in a couple of angry women and, if he wasn't pregnant, a few punches to the face.

"Hurry and get dressed in this gown," the blonde ordered, tossing him a hospital gown. Knowing he'd be in the hospital longer if he didn't obey immediately, he quickly went to the adjoining bathroom and changed into the thin fabric. He walked out, feeling exposed due to the fact that the gown didn't cover much of his backside.

After getting the basics such as weight and height out of the way, Tsunade had Sai lay on the examination table.

"So what have you been eating?" Tsunade questioned after taking a seat on a stool at the foot of the bed. Sai thought for a minute. Aside from instant food and the occasional apple or two, he hadn't been eating much because he'd hadn't had time to prepare meals and even if he did, he would've gagged on it.

"Just fruit. And instant meals," Sai answered honestly.

"Hm. That's not good for the baby. Here," she said, reaching behind the papers on her clipboard for a chart to give her patient. "These foods are best for a healthy baby. Now normally, I wouldn't be on you about health, but you're a friend of Naruto and Sakura's and I don't want anything to go wrong." She then looked from the clipboard to Sai, a serious expression on her face.

"Have you decided to keep the child?" she asked, a hint of concern in her voice.

"I want to make sure the father has no problems with my decision, but I've decided to keep the baby. I don't want to throw away another life." He whispered the last sentence softly, thinking of all the lives he destroyed on the missions Danzo assigned him.

"I see." Tsunade had heard the last sentence Sai had muttered to himself and her heart clenched inwardly at the ex-ROOT's pained expression. She placed a hand on the artist's shoulder, startling him slightly. "Just know: Sakura and I are behind you all the way."

Looking from Tsunade to her apprentice, Sai could see that the buxom blonde was speaking the truth. "Thanks."

"So, if I may ask, who is the father?"

A pregnant silence crept into the room.

"Tsunade-shishou—" Sakura began, only to be cut off when Sai raised his hand to intervene.

"It's alright, Sakura-san." Might as well tell her. "Hokage-sama," Sai began softly, "it's Naruto-kun."

The look on Tsunade's face was one of surprise and confusion. She wasn't aware of Naruto and Sai getting together and the last she heard, Naruto still had feelings for her apprentice.

"The brat? When did this happen?" She looked from her trainee to the painter. There was something they weren't telling her and she wanted to find out. Now.

"I…on our last mission…" The artist tried to say more, but no words came. He looked over to Sakura, silently pleading for help.

"Tsunade-shishou, it was Kyuubi. He took over Naruto's body and…raped Sai." Sakura almost had the same trouble as Sai because she hated rehashing that horrible memory, even at his request.

Tsunade's eyes hardened with anger, such that it sent chills through both her apprentice and the artist.

"When I get my hands on the little…"

"It's great to be back!"


	5. But Apparently, So Were You

The village never looked so bright. The sunshine-headed boy practically leaped inside, his team walking behind him as all went to report their mission to the Hokage. "It's great to be back!" It really was. Konoha was a sight for sore eyes after being in a dark valley for almost a week. The smells, the sight of the villagers, Mount Hokage…it just screamed home.

"Calm down, Blondie. We've got business to take care of before you can go off and eat ramen," Kiba scolded the boy. Naruto looked back over his shoulders, scowling.

"Shut up, you mangy mutt," he whispered, though he knew Kiba heard it. The tattooed teen growled slightly when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Can it, you two. I've had enough of your troublesome bickering for one week and I don't need more of it now."

"I have to say I agree with the Nara," the pearl-eyed teen said from behind the lazy nin.

"That's because you're in love with the Nara…" Naruto whispered to Kiba, who snickered loudly.

"What was that?" They could've sworn a vein popped on Neji's forehead. Luckily, Shikamaru stopped the Byakugan user before he could deal any damage to the two idiots.

"Never mind that. We have more important business to take care of." Muttering a "troublesome" under his breath, he led the way to the Hokage's office.

"Shishou, it wasn't all Naruto's fault," Sakura said quickly, trying to dissuade Tsunade from beating Naruto to a bloody pulp. Sai set a hand on the older woman's shoulder, giving her a look that agreed with Sakura's words.

The vein dissipated from Tsunade's forehead as she struggled to calm herself. "Alright. I won't do anything to him." Sai smiled at the Hokage's efforts, even if they were pathetic.

"So, on with the appointment?" Sakura questioned. Technically, the appointment wasn't completed until the doctor asked the patient for any other concerns.

"Ah, yes." Tsunade shifted in her chair as she calmed herself to a more appropriate mood. "Is there anything you're concerned about or want to address?" she asked professionally.

"Actually, there is," the artist stated as he shifted to a sitting position.

"And what would that be?"

"I'm still experiencing morning sickness even though I'm taking the pills you gave me."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "That's normal. Sometimes, the pill has no effect on some patients."

"I see. Well then, I have no more questions."

Tsunade stood and stretched slightly. "Well, this appointment's done. If you have any more questions, you know where to find me or Sakura." With that she was gone.

Sakura and Sai remained in the room, the latter thinking of what lay ahead.

"I have to tell him…he's going to hate me…" Sai whispered, more to himself than the kunoichi.

Quickly, the strawberry blonde rushed over to console her friend.

"Where is she?" Naruto whined after about twenty minutes of waiting. Neji had settled himself against the wall while Shikamaru (lazy as ever) took up space on the couch, half-asleep. Kiba had also settled himself near the wall with Akamaru. Naruto, on the other hand, was up and about, pacing from one end of the office to the next.

"Will you calm down already? You're giving Akamaru a headache," the dog boy said, grating on Naruto's already thin nerves.

"Why you—"

"Shut up. I'm here, so give me your report." The office door opened, revealing the Hokage herself. She walked past the boy and to her chair where she instantly slouched and reached into her desk drawer for some sake.

"Where've you been, baachan?" Naruto questioned. He was honestly curious as to why Tsunade wasn't in her office. She was always in her office…when he was around, anyway.

"I had to deal with a patient. It was a private matter. Please make it quick, I'm expecting someone soon…" In reality, she wasn't but she wanted this out of the way so she could have some alone time to think about Sai's situation. He would bear a child…Naruto's child. She almost let out a laugh. The blonde was still a child himself! Yeah, he'd sometimes have his moments of maturity, but that was only in the context of a mission. Kami help him…

"—and then the enemy retreated. No injuries except for a minor scratch here and there."

Tsunade snapped out of it just in time to hear the end of Shikamaru's report. She nodded as if she hadn't been spacing out the whole time. "I see. Well then, you're dismissed." The four boys left the room. Naruto was going to stay behind to pry some information about why she was late, but was dragged out by Neji and Shikamaru.

Tsunade leaned back and poured herself some sake. A nap sounded good right now.

"Hey! Dammit, stop pulling! You'll rip the fabric!" Neji and Shikamaru let go, causing Naruto to fall. The blonde glared at the brunets as he rubbed his sore posterior. "What the hell?" he shouted. He wanted to go back and interrogate that lazy slug about the person she was expecting. He couldn't help being a little nosy; it was just the way he was.

"Tsunade-sama doesn't need you to bother her while she's working," Neji answered in a matter-of-fact voice, annoying Naruto to no end. Damn Neji and his fancy manners and speech! Hinata was never like that. Maybe he should learn some people skills from her! Or…maybe not. A stuttering and blushing Neji would be frightening, yet…cute? Naruto shuddered at the thought. If the Hyuuga were to know what he was thinking just then, he'd be so dead.

"Tch. Whatever." The blue-eyed teen lifted himself off the ground and followed the retreating group. He had nothing to do, why not hang around the village for a bit? Kiba was laughing at something. Naruto looked over to see Akamaru chasing a rat around and in a nearby alley. Akamaru wasn't a dumb dog, but being a dog, he couldn't help but have canine tendencies. Shikamaru simply sighed at the pair and muttered his infamous quote under his breath.

For a while, the four teens simply meandered until Neji said that he had to go train Hanabi. The other three bade him goodbye then walked to Ichiraku's. Naruto was hungry and the others couldn't ignore their own empty stomachs.

"One large miso ramen, please!" Naruto ordered as soon as he sat down. Kiba ordered some dango while Shikamaru mooched off of him. Within minutes, Naruto had gobbled down his third bowl before the other two finished the dango. To them this was normal. If Naruto didn't have an appetite, Hell would freeze over!

"Well…it could be worse," a voice in the distance reassured. The other voice was too low to distinguish what they were saying, but it was obvious they were upset. Naruto decided to take a look and see who the voices belonged to.

"Hey Sakura-chan, Sai!" The pair looked up to see the blonde in front of them. Sakura smiled. Sai flinched, though only slightly, before flashing a smile of his own. Naruto hadn't noticed the flinch or the fact that both smiles were forced.

"Hey, Naruto," both replied in unison. Sai may have looked calm outwardly, but inwardly, he was panicked. He knew that he had to tell Naruto and this was the perfect time. He just didn't know where to start or even what to expect. The blonde was the last obstacle he had to overcome before he could have any peace of mind. At least until the baby was born.

"What're you guys doing?" Naruto asked as he approached the pair.

"We just came back from Tsunade's," Sakura replied. Sai was still trying to decide how to tell the other teen about his child. Their child. It was frightening, but it had to be done.

"Naruto-kun—"

"Hey, do you guys wanna join us for ramen?" Naruto questioned, cutting Sai off. He didn't even bother to wait for a reply as he dragged them to the shop where Kiba was currently yelling at Shikamaru (who was ignoring him) for stealing the last piece of dango. Sai felt slightly insulted. He was just ignored. That, or maybe his voice did sound as weak as he thought. He couldn't tell him now; they were around too many people. The matter was private and Sai wanted to keep it that way.

Naruto, on the other hand, was practically dying inside. He still felt guilty about what he—Kyuubi—had done to the artist. He'd promised himself when he'd returned from his mission with Shikamaru and the others that he would apologize properly to the boy…somehow. Sai was a very hard person to get through to. He was emotionally detached and most of the time, socially awkward. When he saw Sai and Sakura walking together, he thought it was the perfect opportunity to do so. He wanted to do so with just himself and Sai, but he didn't want to scare the painter and besides that, he himself was having trouble being around the other.

"Hey! I heard there's gonna be a festival tonight. We should all go," Kiba said out of the blue while having a one-sided argument with Shikamaru. Akamaru yipped in delight at the idea, which only encouraged his master. "Yeah! We should all go! Let's get everybody to go!" When he said everybody, he meant the Rookie 8 and Gai's team. Without waiting for a response, he reached into his pocket, slapped some money onto the counter, and left with Akamaru to invite the others.

_That's one down, and one to go_. Sai really didn't mind if Sakura was there when he told Naruto. She already knew and maybe her presence would help him feel more comfortable around the blonde.

Shikamaru decided he too had to leave. Something about his mother nagging him for not immediately coming home after leaving the Hokage's office, which was believable since his mother was known for being "troublesome." Team Seven waved goodbye and wished him good luck—Kami knew he needed it!

"Well, I guess I have to go too. I haven't worn my old outfit since I was 13 and I know that's not gonna fit!" And just like that, Naruto was off. Sai let out a sigh of both relief and frustration.

"Why don't you go after him?" Sakura asked.

Sai ordered dango and smiled to himself and Sakura. "I'll tell him tonight," he answered simply. They both ate the dango in silence with an occasional joke here and a bicker there. The girl was starting to feel like a sister to him. It'd been so long since anyone made him feel like that and it felt nice, especially since all this drama was making him feel like shit.

"Hey, why don't we go get us something to wear for tonight? I know you don't have anything and I also need something new. How 'bout it?"

Sai looked at Sakura's inquisitive expression. In the past, he would've shot her down and called her ugly dog. But now, he felt the need to repay her for all she'd done for him. After he gave a barely audible "yes," Sakura released an ungodly squeal and dragged Sai to the nearest store…all while the shopkeeper was yelling at them that they'd forgotten to pay.

Naruto heaved a sigh of relief. He needed to get away from all this. Yes, he wanted desperately to make things right with Sai, but something kept getting in the way. He wasn't sure why, but every time he was near the brunet, he could feel himself on Sai and he was reminded of the things he'd done to him. Then like always, he'd run away before he could say anything to him. He was avoiding the painter because he couldn't handle remembering the horrible things he'd done to the other.

_Why do I feel like that around Sai?_

**Maybe you should ask the brat, kit.**

_Why should I when I know that you know?_ Naruto growled out loud, earning some strange looks from the villagers.

**How do you know I know?** Kyuubi was well aware that he was irritating his host. Naruto was right, he knew what was going on, but that didn't mean he had to tell him. It was funnier that way.

_You damn fox!_ Naruto decided he'd had enough of Kyuubi's smartass comments. But Kyuubi was right. If he wanted to know, he'd have to ask Sai himself. The blonde sighed and turned the corner. Right now, he really had to get himself a kimono and a hakama. He already knew what colors he wanted: orange with a side of black, maybe even some red and blue on the back.

After about an hour, Naruto finally came across the perfect kimono: orange and black. After fishing through his pockets for the right amount of money, he paid for the formal wear and walked back to his apartment.

_I can't forget to ask Sai_, he reminded himself as he rushed to get ready.

It was almost 7 in the evening before everyone arrived. The Rookie 8 and Team Gai had all met near the cotton candy stand. Everyone was dressed in their festival kimono and looked great. Of course, Ino had a little too much makeup on, but no one dared mention it. Even Akamaru was dressed up, much to his dismay. Sakura and Sai had been the last to arrive, and they looked wonderful with Sai dressed in black and purple and Sakura in pink and red.

"Wow, you two look great!" Ino exclaimed as she turned from a festival game she was losing.

"Thanks," they both mumbled, embarrassed to be in the spotlight.

Naruto looked at his teammates and couldn't help but agree. They did look good in their kimonos.

"Are you two going out?" Kiba asked, completely oblivious to the sensitive situation going on with Team Kakashi.

Naruto's eyes widened visibly at the dog nin's words. Now that he thought about it, his teammates had been spending a lot of time together…

Naruto's teeth gritted. How could they? They both knew he'd had a crush on Sakura since their Academy days. Now they were going out? Those…

"U-uh, Kiba, it's not—"

"Sure it is! I mean, you guys are practically attached at the hip!" Kiba just never knew when to shut up.

"Really? You two are going out? That's awesome!" Tenten joined in, adding fuel to an already raging fire. Soon, everybody else chimed in, with nobody noticing the blond boy slip away. Nobody, except Sai.

"I have to go. Please believe me when I say that we're not going out." Sai bowed slightly and walked in the direction he saw Naruto leave in.

"Those bastards! How could they do this? They could've at least told me!" the demon container ranted to himself as he stomped away from the others. Words could not describe how betrayed he felt. And to think he was going to make it up to Sai for what he'd done two months ago.

**Maybe you're blowing this out of proportion?**

_Maybe I'm not!_ Naruto's anger wouldn't let up anytime soon.

**You're such an aggravating kit,** the fox sighed from the depths of the blonde's mind and let it rest. He may have been trapped, but he wasn't dumb. He knew the blonde wasn't mad at the relationship, but more like who was in the relationship. And it wasn't Sakura…

"Naruto-kun!" a familiar voice called out to him. He wasn't sure if he wanted to stop and listen or keep walking.

"Naruto-kun, please wait. I have to clear this with you."

Cursing himself for not being able to ignore the other, he turned and glared at the teen running to catch up behind him. "What do you want, Sai?" The demon vessel's voice was sharp. Sai could practically feel the hurt in his voice.

"I want to clear this thing with me and Sakura-san to you," Sai said breathlessly. He was only two, almost three months pregnant and already he was swiftly running out of energy.

"Well, what? You wanna tell me about something else you've kept from me? What kind of teammate are you?" Sai flinched at the other's tone. It was nothing like Naruto's usual friendly tone and not even Danzo had spoken to him with such hostility.

"Naruto-kun…I wanted to tell you that Sakura-san and I aren't dating," Sai said calmly, though his heart was in turmoil.

Naruto felt like a complete ass. He should've trusted his teammates. Again, he'd fucked things up with Sai. It seemed that no matter how much he tried, he always ended up hurting the other.

"I'm going home. Enjoy the festival," Sai muttered before walking away. Naruto would've tried to stop him, if he could've found his voice…and his mobility.

The previous night had been horrible for Sai. Not only had there been misunderstandings, but Naruto had looked upon him with those hateful eyes that had hurt his heart so much.

He didn't get the chance to enjoy the festival. He left after the confrontation with Naruto. It would have been impossible to enjoy the rest of the evening with a heartache practically ripping his chest open. He could still feel the sting deep within. Sai groaned as he started the morning. He hopped into the shower then proceeded to make himself a breakfast he wouldn't gag on. After about a minute of nibbling on his breakfast, a knock came from Sai's door. Reluctantly, he rose from his chair and walked over to the door.

"Hello?" he said as he opened the door, revealing Sakura.

"What's up?" she asked as she silently asked to come in. Sai moved to let her in, not bothering to ask her why she was here.

"So, did you tell Naruto?" Sighing, the artist shook his head. He walked into the kitchen and resumed eating his slightly cold breakfast at the table.

"Well, what're you waiting for? You need to go tell him. You've been putting it off for a while now and if you don't tell him soon…" She left the sentence hanging for him to finish himself.

"I will. I promise. Today." He hadn't wanted to, but he knew Sakura was right.

"Well, before that, I wanna go shopping and since no one else wants to, you're coming with me." Refusing wasn't an option. Sai knew that much.

"Alright."

"Wasn't that just a great shopping trip?"

"Sure." Sai replied unenthusiastically. They only looked at clothes and things that Sakura liked. No wonder everyone else had turned her down. At least he didn't have to carry the bags.

"Sai," said a voice from behind them. They turned to see their other teammate with an apologetic look on his face. Silently, Sai motioned for Sakura to go in, which she reluctantly did, and walked closer to the blonde, wanting to know what ailed him.

"Sai…" Naruto began. Sighing, the blonde looked up at the brunet in front of him. "I want to say…that I'm sorry for…last night. I should never have assumed that anything out of Kiba's mouth was true."

Sensing the sincerity radiating from the other, Sai hesitantly placed a reassuring hand on the other's shoulder. "It's fine, Naruto-kun." _It's now or never._ "But there is something I've been neglecting to tell you."

Confused, Naruto prepared to listen intently to what Sai had to say. "What…what're you saying?"

The artist took a deep breath.

"Naruto…"

"Yes?"

**This is what you've been waiting to hear, kit.**

"I need to tell you that…"

"Yes?"

"I'm pregnant…with your child."


	6. Because You Could Not Accept It

"Naruto…"

"Yes?"

"I need to tell you that…"

"Yes?"

"I'm pregnant…with your child."

The pair was at a standstill, staring at each other in silence. The feeling was so horrible, like all breathable air being sucked away.

"Please say something, Naruto-kun…" Sai whispered pleadingly, praying for the blonde to do something, _anything _to break this horrible stillness.

**Didn't I tell you, kit? **Kyuubi sneered from within his vessel. Outwardly, Naruto's eyes hardened. He was going to apologize to Sai for what he did to him months ago. He was going to put all this shit behind him, pick up from where he'd fucked up with Sai. But now…

"I gotta go." He turned his back to the brunet, walking away.

Sai opened his mouth to say something, but by the time he could, the blonde was out of sight, leaving a teary-eyed raven in his wake.

After swiftly running back to his apartment, Sai pushed his back to the door, sliding down as the tears he'd held back began to flow.

He couldn't believe himself: reduced to a weeping wreck because he'd let himself fall for a man he could never have and who obviously didn't feel the same way. Maybe Danzo was right when he said forming bonds were useless. They either died on you, like his brother did…or they hurt you, like Naruto just did.

Shaking these horrible thoughts from his head, the artist wiped his tears before walking over to his easel. Maybe painting would help him feel better. Plopping down on the stool, he grabbed one of the many brushes beside him and began to paint. Before he knew it, he had the moon staring him in the face.

It was beautiful…but where were its stars? "Have they left you too?" he asked out loud. He wasn't waiting for a reply. He didn't know what he was waiting for. For someone to wake him and tell him he was dreaming? To wake up and find himself still on that fateful mission?

Sai blinked back more tears. He had already cried so much after talking to Naruto. Slowly, he brought a shaky hand up to the painting, placing a pale yellow blotch next to the moon. His other hand went to his stomach and began to rub it softly.

"At least I have one star in this empty galaxy," the artist voiced just above a whisper before more tears slipped through his eyelashes. "I know you'll always shine for me."

Sakura was in the maternity ward, picking up the infant that had been left in her charge. She couldn't help but smile from behind her mask. The baby was an angel, so calm and so very cute!

"Hey, Amou. How are you, you cutie pie?" she cooed as she walked over to the changing table. He was smaller than most newborns. He only weighed 10 kilos, but was still considered healthy.

After changing Amou, she placed him back in his bassinette before taking off her gloves and mask and walking down to the lobby. She had taken this shift after leaving Sai to talk to Naruto and decided to check on him. For some reason, she couldn't shake the feeling that things hadn't gone well.

The walk to Sai's was short. After about five minutes of walking, she arrived at his door and knocked. Sounds of shuffling and some sniffling could be heard from the other side of the door before it was roughly opened.

"Hello, Sakura-san," Sai greeted in a watery voice. It was obvious he'd been crying.

"Sai…what happened…?" Sakura asked, immediately taken aback by the sight of her friend's tears.

"He didn't take it well." Judging from his voice, Sakura decided it'd be best to leave it at that for now.

Sai turned his back to Sakura and headed for the kitchen to make some tea.

"Sai, don't worry about it," the medic said, stopping the artist in his tracks.

"Will you be my star, Sakura-san?"

The question seemed so random to the pink-haired girl. Not sure of what to say, she nodded. Whatever he meant by it, if it made him feel better, she'd say yes.

"Thank you." He shuffled quickly across the room to a painting he'd apparently been working on before she'd gotten here. Curious, she followed her teammate to get a better look.

"You're my second star," he elaborated as he added another pale yellow splotch to the canvas. Touched, Sakura glanced sympathetically at her teammate. Naruto must've really hurt him to make him paint something like this.

"Who's your first?"

A brief silence followed. "That would be my child. I know that no matter what, both of you will be here for me."

When Sakura hugged him to her shoulder, he couldn't help but feel slightly childish. But at that moment, he didn't care.

Tsunade was in her office, surrounded by a mountain of paperwork and yearning for sake and a nap. Just as she was about to begin said paperwork, she heard a knock at her door. "What?" This had better be important, she thought begrudgingly. She wasn't in the mood for stupid shit today.

"Baa-chan, gimme a mission. I don't care what it is, just get me out of here."

Immediately, Tsunade knew something was wrong. Not only had the brat not barged into her office with a loud mouth, but he'd asked to leave the village, something very unlike him. "Why?"

"I don't wanna talk about it. Just get me outta here."

Sighing, the Godaime picked up an empty mission scroll and started to fill it out. "I can't have you going alone, so you'll be traveling with Jiraiya. He'll be here tomorrow morning." Upon hearing this, a great sigh of relief and a Thank God could be heard from the blond teen.

"Just answer me this: why're you so eager to leave the village?"

"It's nothing." Naruto said this too quickly, telling Tsunade everything she needed to know.

"Is this about Sai?"

The boy's eyes widened. Tsunade knew too? "How did—?"

"I'm the one who told him."

The boy's face hardened. "So am I going on this mission or what?"

"Watch your tone with me, brat," Tsunade warned before signing the scroll. Inwardly, she wanted to deny Naruto this mission. Inwardly, she wanted to shake Naruto, beat some sense into him and tell him to get his ass back to Sai. But as Hokage, she knew it wasn't her place to do so. So with much regret, she presented the blonde with the completed scroll.

"You're good to go, brat. But remember: you can't run forever."

"Watch me." With that, the jinchuuriki turned his back to the woman, walking out of her office like a man relieved of a tumor.

"Shizune! Where's my sake?"

Naruto could've jumped for joy after obtaining his mission scroll, for it meant he would soon be away from all this drama. As soon as he reached his apartment, he opened his ramen cabinet and poured some water into a cup before setting it in the microwave. As soon as he finished his ramen, he would pack his things before going to bed. The sooner he went to bed, the sooner tomorrow would come…the sooner he'd be out of here, away from the reminder of what he'd done.

As he waited impatiently for the water to finish boiling, he heard a knock at his door. Immediately, the blonde raced over to answer._Maybe Ero-Sennin's here early!_When he opened the door, however, he was face-to-face with Sakura, who did not look too happy with him.

"Uh…hi, Sakura-chan…"

A moment passed before Sakura spoke. "I was just with Sai, and he's really upset. So I just wanna know: what's your problem?"

So Sakura knew too. As if on cue, the microwave dinged, providing a welcome distraction for the blonde as he went to pour his water into the ramen cup.

Angered at being blown off, Sakura stormed after him as he prepared to eat his ramen. "What is your problem?"

Frustrated, Naruto sighed roughly through his nose. Couldn't a guy eat ramen in peace? "Look, Sakura-chan. I refuse to be tied down by a reminder of something stupid I did, alright? Besides, Sai can fend for himself, can't he?"

Sakura's blood boiled. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, and from someone she considered a friend. "Y'know what? Grow up."

Naruto slammed down his chopsticks, glaring at the girl. What did she just tell him?

Sakura continued, having hardly flinched at the look Naruto was giving her. "'Cause Sai's really scared, and he could use a little fucking support right now. And I don't usually tell you what to do, 'cause you always do the right thing. But this time, you didn't."

What? Who did she think she was, thinking she could just show up and tell him how to live his life? "Y'know, Sakura-chan? It's real easy to talk about the right thing to do when it's not your life."

That did it. Sakura got up from her place at the table, approaching the unsuspecting blonde with frightening deliberateness before…

Naruto went flying backwards.

"Dickless," the girl snarled before storming out and slamming the door to his apartment.

"Naruto-kun said that, did he?" Sai asked, sipping his tea.

"Yeah. I was just as surprised as you are." Sakura sighed. "He's never been one to run from things. Why would he start now?"

When Sai only stared at his tea, Sakura gently nudged his hand, bringing his attention back to her.

"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, Sai, I totally whaled on him for you. Just boom! right in the kisser. I even called him dickless for you."

Sai couldn't help but give a slight chuckle at the thought of her calling Naruto by his pet name, especially on his behalf. Sakura smiled, relieved that she'd managed to cheer up the depressed brunet. She placed her hand atop his, a gesture of reassurance.

"Naruto may be an idiot, but he'll come around. You'll see." Her smile grew into a mischievous smirk. "Maybe I knocked some sense into him."

"I hope you're right," Sai responded softly, his smile slightly increased.

"Tsunade-shishou," Sakura called to her mentor.

The Godaime looked up from the paperwork she'd _finally _gotten around to doing to see her apprentice and her dark-haired teammate entering her office. "This better be important."

"Shishou, do you know where Naruto is? Sai and I can't find him anywhere." After yesterday's disaster, the strawberry blonde and brunet had hoped to talk things over with their teammate, but had gotten concerned when they couldn't find him at his apartment or Ichiraku's or anywhere else in the village, which was why they went to Tsunade.

The blond woman sighed. Knowing the pair in front of her and the situation concerning their whole team, they'd hate her for this.

"He went on a mission with Jiraiya. And I don't know when—or if—he'll come back."


	7. And When You did, I Couldnt Accept You

"What are you talking about?" Sai asked after a minute passed. The information had taken him a moment to absorb.

"Naruto left." Tsunade said simply before resuming her paperwork. It was Sakura who broke the silence that followed after.

"Why did you let him go? You knew what his intentions were!"

Tsunade picked her head up and glared at the girl in front of her. Of course she knew his intentions, but she had no right to tell him to what to do with his life. "And if I did?" It angered Sakura to hear the tone spoken to her. Tsunade may have been Hokage, but Sakura knew that she deserved a good answer.

"Tsunade-sama, tell me what's going on," Sai finally spoke up. His thoughts were in a jumble, everything going everywhere in his mind. He felt faint and a little sick, but the desire…no, need to know what happened to Naruto lingered above all of that.

Unfortunately, Tsunade didn't feel the same. "Why should I tell you two brats?"

"Please, shishou. You know about Sai's situation. Why can't you just tell us?" The fact that Sakura was pleading meant that she was desperate.

"Just forget about it, Sakura-san. If he wants to leave me so badly, let him." Both the women in the room stared in shock at Sai's words and hurt expression. They were wordless as he turned to walk out of the room and failed to notice the tears of anger welling up in his dark eyes.

"What was that…?" Tsunade let her sentence trail. The expression on the painter's face was something entirely new to her. The reaction gave the other medic in the room a different sentiment.

"Shishou…" the strawberry blonde began, her head turned towards the door her teammate left through.

"Yes?" The older woman's eyebrow rose generously. Her apprentice was up to something, she could feel it. It wasn't every day you heard the young woman use such a set tone.

Sakura turned to stare her shishou in the eye. "I'm willing to challenge you for the keys to your file cabinet." That grabbed the Sannin's attention. She never backed down from a challenge, especially from an opponent she knew so well.

"And what, if I may ask, do you have in mind for this challenge?" Tsunade brought her chin to rest on her hands. She couldn't help but smile at the determined look on her ward's face. It reminded her so much of her younger years. Tsunade respected that and that was the only reason she hadn't thrown the other out of her office yet.

"A drinking contest," were the words that left the young medic's mouth. Tsunade stared in awe before exploding in mirth.

"Well! If you insist! I just hope you're willing to lose!" Tsunade said before yelling for Shizune to bring 15 bottles of sake and other strong alcohols.

"I won't lose, trust me."

The battle raged for more than an hour before they were at the 15th bottle in the now empty collection of spirits. Tsunade was surprised the young girl had lasted this long. She could feel her own resolve leaving her as the liquor invaded her systems. Sakura seemed wasn't doing any better. Occasionally, she would slur and her eyes were glazed as she glanced aimlessly at the walls.

Sakura took the bottle into her hand and poured the sake messily in the cups. They weren't the normal sake cups, but wine glasses. It took all of her effect not to spill what little alcohol they had left. After completing the simple task, the medics stared each other in the eyes, both of them showing determination.

In an instant, they both downed the liquor. It hadn't taken them long to each finish their glasses. Silence once again permeated the room as they each waited for the other to pass out.

"You're not gonna win, Sak'ra..." Tsunade slurred. Sakura simply stared past the drunkard and at the window. She wasn't going to reply to Tsunade's taunt. She didn't have to. Tsunade passed was out cold.

"HA! I won, Tsunade! I wo—" The strawberry blonde collapsed midway through her proclaimed victory. She never had been a strong drinker.

Nothing could describe the hurt and betrayal that flowed through Sai's being. He felt like everyone in some way had hurt him. Nobody had bothered to tell him that Naruto had left. Not even Tsunade.

Sai walked swiftly towards an alley, then to a flight of hidden stairs. He lacked on his training and now he had to regain what was once lost.

After descending the stairs, Sai walked along the hidden corridor and straight to Danzo's chambers. He knocked only once before he was met with a reply.

"Ah, it's been a while since you have last returned here. What is it that you require?"

Sai bowed low on his knees and spoke in a monotone voice. "I wish to undergo some more training. I have failed to keep up with the previous."

Danzo raised his eyebrow before rising to approach the ANBU in front of him. "And why do you say that?"

Sai would have flinched at the tone if he wasn't familiar with Danzo's scare tactics. "I've recently made a discovery that has brought some long forgotten emotions into play. I do not wish for them to remain." Danzo nodded before approaching the young ANBU. He knew the boy was hiding something and he wanted to find it out.

"Sai, why are you really here?" He asked in a sincere tone, one that Sai had never heard before. Danzo was like a father to Sai and he did treat him a little special at times when the others weren't looking. But this was new.

"I...wish to tell you something, sir."

"And what would that be?" Danzo asked as he took a step back and sat down in a chair to his left.

"I am with child. It's Naruto's." Sai was sure Danzo would hit him now. If there was anything he despised more than traitors, it was Naruto.

Sai didn't dare look up to see the expression on his former sensei's face. It was already very painful having to tell the man his secret. He couldn't bear the look of disgust he figured Danzo would have painted across his face.

"Is this true?" the man spoke in a low tone, hinting his disbelief. Sai nodded slowly, still afraid to look into the eyes of the man before him. "How did this happen?"

Sai began to explain the events and happenings that lead up to the present. He explained how Kyuubi had taken advantage of him and how he discovered the baby that now grew inside him. By the end of the story, the memory of Naruto's desertion came flooding back to Sai, leave angry streaks of tears on his pale cheeks. What surprised Sai was the warm hand that came to rest on his shoulder.

"It's only natural." The painter's head snapped up at the warm words.

"It's only natural to feel a bit of something after going through that." With a sigh of relief, Sai flashed a real smile. Maybe things wouldn't be that bad after all.

It was close to midnight before the young artist found himself back in his apartment. His fatigue finally caught up with him as he shuffled into the door.

"Being pregnant is harder than it looks," he whispered to himself as he made his way to the bathroom. He was a little over three months and happy that the wretched morning sickness had come to an end. Sai walked to his bedroom and shed his clothes before crawling into the bed. The moon was bright, but he was sure the light wouldn't stop him from getting a good night's rest.

The morning wasn't as good as Sai had planned. He awoke to a bird pecking at his window. It didn't go away until he jumped out of the bed, almost twisting his ankle on the way, and shooed it away. Sighing because he knew he had to start the day soon, Sai walked to the shower and quickly washed off.

After eating a quick meal, the artist gathered some art supplies and walked to the park to paint. The park was always so lively and held plenty of live models to draw. Sai walked to his spot under the tree and behind the pond. It wasn't long before another figure stopped and sat next him.

"Hey," a raspy voice muttered to Sai. Sai had to look at the person to identify it as his friend Sakura.

"What happened to you?" Sai asked after he started to continue his painting.

"I was in a drinking contest with Tsunade after you left," she answered. She placed her head on her knees as she moaned due to the ache that pounded within her skull.

"Why?" Sai asked, though he was sure he knew the answer to that question.

"To try to get the keys to her file cabinet. I wanted to find Naruto for you. I know that you said forget about it but I can't help but think that you still care for him." She turned her head after she finished speaking.

"Well, you're mistaken." Sai said almost resignedly. "I will not care for someone who doesn't care back."

Sakura sighed before rubbing her forehead to her knees, then turning once more to face Sai. "So, you're just giving up on Naruto now?" If Sai wasn't going to waste his time, then neither would she.

After a long pause, Sai finally whispered a yes into the wind. Sakura looked up and watched as the leaves on the tree rustled in the breeze.

"Alright then. I guess we start fresh starting today." Sakura declared as she stretched. With a smile, Sai agreed. Everything from yesterday and before would no longer be a worry. At least until the baby was born.

Life had never been better for Sai. He felt at ease for once in his many years of being a shinobi. Ever since Tsunade forced him to take maternity leave, he spent his days painting and relaxing under trees, two things he enjoyed very much.

Sai looked up at the sky from his seat under the big oak tree near the edge of the park. It was a beautiful day. The baby must have thought so too, because it was kicking up a storm. "Settle down in there. I'm not a punching bag, y'know."

It was hard for the others to believe Sai when he had called them all together to tell them two months ago. Even with their Byakugan activated, Neji and Hinata couldn't believe what the artist had revealed to them. It took Sai's expanding stomach to prove that what he said had not been a lie. The lab results also helped.

"Hey Sai, have you already forgotten? You have an appointment today!" came an obnoxious voice from Sai's right. It was Ino and Tenten. Reluctantly, Sai started the difficult task of getting to his feet. The two girls helped the ex-ANBU after watching him struggle for a good 30 seconds.

"Thanks," Sai muttered after dusting his pants off. He had gotten used to receiving help from others after they deemed him "fragile."

The three walked for about seven minutes before arriving at the hospital. Sai could feel Tsunade's anger radiating towards him from two floors above. The thought made him sigh. He was either very late, or she was having a bad morning, both of which would most likely result in a bad day for everyone.

"Are you ready, Sai?" Tenten asked as she pressed the button on the elevator.

"Not really, but I suppose I have no choice." Ino giggled slightly before muttering a yes. They entered the room to the right after exiting the elevator.

"There you are! Why is it that you're always late to your appointments?" Sakura questioned as she rushed the pregnant teen into the hospital room and began to prep him for Tsunade's check-up.

"Well, I guess we'll see ya, Sai!" Tenten exclaimed before muttering something about training with Guy and rushing off with Ino. Sakura laughed at the other girl before handing Sai a gown for him change into. It took him a total of six minutes to get the vile thing on. Another eight minutes passed before Tsunade arrived through the doors.

"I've been looking for you!" She practically yelled before taking a seat. Sai would have rolled his eyes if he had the energy. She never looked for anyone personally, not when she had others who were employed to do so.

The checkup was brief. Tsunade mostly checked his weight and eating habits. After some Q&A, Sakura walked back into the room with a crazy-looking machine Sai had never seen before.

"What is that?"

"An ultrasound machine. It'll give us a good view of the baby. Maybe even give us a gender." Sai nodded before relaxing on the bed he was sitting on.

"Lay down so I can prep you." Sai laid down carefully on the thin mattress and lifted his gown. The elder medic rubbed a gel onto the artist's distended torso before rolling the scope across it.

"I can see the head." Sakura said after a few moments of searching. Sai looked to where the kunoichi was pointing and smiled at the screen. He could see the head and all the baby's visible features.

"What is it?" Sai asked after a minute of observing the baby.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"A girl." Tsunade concluded after scanning over the frame.

"A girl? I didn't expect that." Sai muttered to himself. A girl would be a nice change. He spent most of his life around boys so having a girl would be a good thing.

"Before I leave, do you have any questions or concerns?" Tsunade asked, half sarcastic. In the last appointment she had, her patient had chewed her out when she wasn't offered the option. Now the woman made sure that she asked whenever she was through with the session.

"No," Sai said before standing to go redress in the bathroom. It was a difficult task, but it was managed. After another minute or so of standing around, Sai decided to that it'd be best for him to leave. He shouldn't take up space, especially in a hospital.

Sai decided to take a walk around town. It was his favorite thing to do when no one else was around to hang out with. And lately that had been the case. Everybody was either always busy or always on a mission when Sai came around. It had been like this for a month so far.

The tree near the waterfall caught Sai's eye after having strolled into the forest twenty minutes ago. He was surprised that in the many years he had lived here in Konoha, he had never seen this area of the forest. It was beautiful and he probably would have never ended up here if his mind hadn't been in the right place.

"So beautiful," he muttered after settling slowly under the shade of the tree. The water's hymn made it easy to relax. Sweet smells flowed through the air and made the place so much more alluring.

"This is…"

"…nice." The blonde boy huffed. It felt nice to be back this familiar land. The trees were always so bright and the smells always so alluring. Everything about Konoha gave Naruto the sense of home. Smiling, the boy walked through the forest, savoring all of the wonders that he not so long ago left. Everything was beautiful and seemed so serene.

The path was full with fall leaves and scampering animals gathering their supplies for the winter that would fall soon. The crunching of the leaves could be heard as both he and his mentor walked towards the gates of Konoha. They had not been gone as long as they thought they would be, but the time away had been satisfactory.

"So kid, what are you going to do now?" Jiraiya asked as they neared the gate. Naruto looked up at the red doors that separated the village and the outside world. He wasn't sure what he was going to do now that he was returning.

"I don't know. Maybe I'll catch up on some more missions and other stuff." An audible sigh could be heard from Sannin as he shook his head in shame for the young boy. He still had so much to learn.

Naruto, on the other hand, knew exactly what Jiraiya was doing behind his back. The situation with Sai had never left his mind throughout the whole mission. If what Sai and Sakura had said three months ago was true, then there was going to be a baby with his blood running through its veins very soon.

The sound of crackling leaves and that of his thoughts made the distance between where he previously stood and the gates close in quickly. The two were greeted warmly by Izumo and Kotetsu at the gates. Naruto replied with his usual smile and wave before walking with his mentor to the Hokage's office. Once there, the two reported any interesting and/or important findings, which in truth, hadn't been much. The majority of the little getaway had been spent on training and "research" for Jiraiya's next book. Tsunade had dismissed them both after gathering the little bit of information.

After parting ways with his sensei, Naruto decided to go to the forest to think. It was always a good way to relax when he felt down, or when the villagers had gotten too cruel. Whatever the reason, the forest always had this strange power to calm the blonde dramatically.

With a sigh of happiness, the blonde trekked toward his sanctuary and took his time to settle in.

Sai awoke to a jolt in his stomach. The baby had decided that she wanted to wake her "mother" out of boredom and Sai wasn't a very happy "mom" at the moment. Sighing, the artist arose from his formerly comfortable sitting position to a less comfortable standing one. Deciding that walking would be better than just standing around, Sai trudged deeper into the forest, but remained close enough to civilization, for it would be a dead man wish to wander off when in a condition like his.

The forest was truly a breathtaking sight to the painter. All of the colors just meshed to create the perfect painting. The oranges and reds of the autumn's day made the painter feel as if he was in a painting. It was unbelievable for him to even be able to witness such a scene.

The walk lasted only a few moments, but Sai felt as if it lasted days. Sai settled on a log near the banks of a steam. The rushing water was perfect for relaxing to. After a moment, the sounds of the forest entranced his senses, completely taking him out of the world of the living. A bit too much out of the world.

"Sai?" A familiar voice called from behind the boy as he snapped back to reality. Coal eyes widened as they meet with cerulean. "Naruto?" Sai questioned in a whisper. He almost ran over and hugged the boy that he hadn't seen in months, but then he remembered…

"Why are you here?" Sai snapped. It surprised Naruto that Sai had said something like that to him. "I just came back from my mission." His eyes wandered to the torso of the teen in front him. It was huge, and that could only mean one thing.

"So, you really are pregnant," Naruto muttered to himself more than he did Sai. Sai narrowed his eyes at the boy he would've loved, given the opportunity.

"And you believe me _now_?" Sai hissed before walking away hastily, but not as fast as he would've liked because of his frontal load.

"Sai! Why are you walking away?" Naruto asked while walking beside the pregnant artist. Sai looked as if he wasn't planning on stopping any time soon so Naruto decided to cut him off. "Why are you so mad at me?" If Sai's eyes could have narrowed any further, Naruto was sure that they would.

"Why? You left me! You showed me that you couldn't just grow up and take responsibility! How could you even ask me that?" the raven spat, trying his hardest to hold back tears. Naruto flinched at Sai's tone. Had he really hurt the raven that much?

Sai sidestepped the blond teen and continued on his way, leaving Naruto racing to catch up.

"Sai, I'm sorry. I just could—"

"You're sorry? You're _sorry_? Well, it's a little late for that."

Naruto had enough of Sai's stubbornness. After catching up to the other, Naruto grabbed Sai by the arm and turned him so they could talk. "Look! I know I fucked up, okay? What do I have to do for you to forgive me? What do I have to prove?"

Sai's eyes widened for a split second before he pulled his arm from Naruto's grip. "Nothing. When you left, you proved that you really are nothing more than a little prick with no balls."

Sai left. He felt like letting the tears he'd held back fall, but he decided Naruto wasn't worth any of them. After everything he did, he wasn't worth anything.

Watching another brunet turn his back to him, Naruto made no attempt to stop him this time. Because this time, he'd brought this upon himself. And it crushed him, knowing that he had only himself to blame because he'd flaked out when Sai needed him the most. Once again, he fucked things up with Sai…big time.


	8. And Though That May Be

Never in his life had Sai felt so much emotional turmoil. Everything he'd tried so hard to forget, to let go of, just came back full force. Every time he talked to the blonde, there would be a fight, followed by anger and frustration. Would it never end?

With a slam of the door, the painter entered his empty apartment and plopped down on his bed. Because of his pregnancy, every time he came back from an outdoor activity, his muscles would ache as if he just lifted the world a good hundred times.

The room was dark, its only source of light coming from the window. Outside, the sunset was being hidden behind the clouds. It was going to rain very soon.

"Why does this keep happening?" He whispered into the air as he stroked his round belly. He didn't expect a response. His daughter was still developing and probably couldn't understand him yet.

"Why does that dickless keep doing this to me?" The artist could feel his heart growing heavy at the mere mention of Naruto. It hurt so much and he wasn't sure why. Though these emotions have plagued him for some time, their meanings were still so new to him.

To his surprise, his daughter nudged him from the inside, as if in sympathy for her "mother." Sai let out a resigned chuckle as the tears he'd held back from his confrontation with Naruto began to fall. Outside, the sun had long been obscured by the clouds, which were now letting the rain they'd held back fall.

Sai didn't even bother to wipe his tears as he rubbed his belly softly and cried himself to sleep.

The night was not as restful as Sai would have liked. The baby had kept him up all night with her kicking. He wouldn't be surprised if at his next appointment they said he was bleeding internally.

"Hey Sai!" a familiar voice interrupted the silence. Sometimes, he had to wonder how the kunoichi kept finding a way into his home.

"Hello, Sakura-san." After a brief struggle, the painter rose from the bed and walked to the kitchen. It didn't surprise him much that breakfast was already made and the table was set. His pink-haired friend would often make breakfast at his house to start his day.

"What are you planning today?" Sakura asked as she placed some food on Sai's plate. The male shrugged before he started to nip at his entrée. The medic nodded as well, then turned to wash the dish she'd finished eating from.

"Do you have anything planned?" Sai asked. He wasn't really in the mood to leave the house, but he was willing if the girl asked him to.

"Nothing in particular. I just wanted to hang out with the others and I wanted to ask if you wanted to come along. I thought that maybe it would be good for you." Sai nodded before walking in the direction of the bathroom. A quick wash-up and change of clothes would do since he was planning to go.

Sai threw on a simple gray hoodie and a pair of black Capri's. The boy looked in the mirror carefully as he pulled his hair into a small ponytail. He had meant to get it cut, but never felt like going out to do so.

"I'm ready if you are" Sai announced as he walked back into the kitchen. Sakura nodded as she finished up the dishes. They both walked out of the apartment and to the training grounds. It was where everybody usually came to hang out. It was never overly crowded and was usually out of the way of the public.

"Hey guys!" Ino exclaimed as she saw the two walk into view. It seemed that everybody had made it.

"Hey," said a small voice from the crowd. Sai looked over to see the man he didn't want to see. The tension in the air grew quickly as the two stared holes into each other, one with a hopeful gaze, the other with a glare of hatred. And looking around, Naruto noticed that Sai wasn't the only one. The looks the others were giving him ranged from pity (namely Hinata) to utter hatred (namely Sakura and Ino).

"Um, w-we should, um, get going." Hinata suggested, feeling the uneasiness come from her friends.

"Yes, we should," Sai said before walking off in the direction of the restaurant, the others following.

With a sigh, Naruto shuffled over to the restaurant amidst the cold shoulder everyone else was giving him. This was gonna be a long night.

"A table for 12, please," Kiba stated as they entered the restaurant where they would be dining for the evening. Everybody filed into the booth with individual chairs set up next to it near the back, for it was the only one that had enough space for the 12.

"So what's everybody been up to?" Kiba asked, trying to get everyone to talk. It worked for the most part. Everybody contributed to the conversation at least once while waiting for their food. To everyone's surprise, Shikamaru ordered the most food and Naruto ate the least. Naruto was too distracted to eat. He was trying to figure out a way to get Sai to listen to him.

"So Neji-san, I heard that you are going to get married soon." Lee stated. Neji wanted to turn and glare, but was interrupted by a number of booming questions around the table.

"Please, I rather not talk about it." Hiashi had decided that Neji was going to be wed to a woman of another clan, one that the Hyuuga had never even heard of. The only reason Neji felt his uncle had done this was because he had recently come out to him, telling him that he was not into women. The look on Hiashi's face was priceless.

"Why not?" the questioning continued. Naruto looked up at Sai to see if he was looking back at him. He was, surprisingly enough, but the raven turned away the second their eyes met. It frustrated the blonde. He was being ignored and it was starting to piss him off, especially since he'd always gotten attention (positive or negative) when he wanted it.

Angrily, Naruto pulled out a pen from his pocket. He wasn't sure when he had put it in, but he was happy that he did. After snatching a napkin from the dispenser, the blonde scribbled a message onto it and stood, claiming to have to use the bathroom. Without being seen, the blond nin slipped the napkin in front of Sai and walked slowly to the bathroom area.

Sai looked at the folded piece of paper before him. He wanted to rip it and ignore all the jinchuuriki had to say, but couldn't find the strength to do so. After a minute of debating, Sai finally opened up the napkin and read the message scripted onto its quilts.

_Sai,_

_We need to talk. And since you've been ignoring me, I wrote instead. Come to the bathroom. I'm only waiting five minutes._

_Naruto_

Sai looked up at the time on the wall clock. Only two minutes had passed. With a sigh, the brunet decided to follow Naruto; after all, he had nothing better to do.

The hall to the restrooms was narrow. Sai felt that if he turned to walk sideways, another person wouldn't possibly fit. After finding the men's restroom, Sai walked in and saw Naruto leaning against the far wall.

"Hey."

"What do you have to say to me, Naruto?"

"Why have you been avoiding me? I've been trying to get your attention and yet you avoid me. I try to apologize to you, yet you blow me off. Sai, what do I need to do?" Naruto's voice rose until he was almost yelling. Sai looked at the blonde and prepared to turn and leave, but found that Naruto wasn't going to let that happen.

"Let go of me!" Sai tried to dislodge his wrist from the other's hand, but it wasn't moving anytime soon. Sai gave up moments after trying to pull away. It was useless to even try.

"I can't trust you Naruto. I can't do this to myself again." Sai's voice was so soft you could barely hear it.

Naruto moved to stand in front of Sai. "What can I do to make you trust me?" Naruto's voice was also low. He needed badly to be with the baby and Sai. They were his family now, and didn't want to lose them before he had a chance to know them.

"Y-you can't…"

"Don't say that. I want to. I have to."

Sai continued to shake his head before he finally gave in. "One chance."

Naruto looked at Sai in amazement. He couldn't believe what he was hearing for a moment.

"One chance," Sai said a bit louder this time. The grin that formed on Naruto's face was as big as any smile he had ever flashed in the past.

"Thanks." Naruto hugged the man, though it wasn't as smooth as he would have liked it to be.

"Don't fuck it up Naruto. This is your last chance. I want you to understand that." Sai's tone faded as it grew closer to the end. He couldn't believe he was going to let that ball-less little prick take another stab at his heart. At the same time, he had to admire the dickless' persistence and couldn't bear the miserable look on the man's face. With a sigh, Sai sunk into the other's embrace. He'd have to find a way to not fall in love with Naruto again, or else he would end up hurt again.

The rest of the evening went by rather fast. Everybody gave up on trying to get an answer out of Neji for his sudden engagement. None of them seemed to have noticed the amount of time Naruto and Sai had been absent, so they slipped back in under complete cover.

After all of the young ninja paid for the bill, they went their separate ways. Sai started to walk home when he was intercepted by a certain hyperactive blonde.

"Hey, I was wondering if you'd…like to just hang out or something?"

Sai could see the pathetic attempt to get closer to him underneath it all, but who was he to try and stop him? "Sure…" He replied before following Naruto to a special place the jinchuuriki had never shown anyone in his life.

They walked carefully into the woods of Konoha and deep into the vast amounts of trees.

"Alright, you have to promise me that you will not tell anyone."

Sai rolled his eyes from behind the blonde. "Sure," Sai promised though he didn't really have to. Unlike some people, he could keep his word and do just as he was asked.

Naruto pulled back a few large leaves as they both came into the view of a cave. Sai wanted to die. The walking was hard on his already tender ankles, but he was too stoic to complain about it. Naruto noticed, however, and made an effort to slow down and take the smoother paths when he could.

"Alright, we're here." The blonde announced as they stopped before a cave. The urge to curse the blonde out for making him walk all the way out for a damn cave almost overwhelmed Sai. He was sure that he would have too if Naruto hadn't been so fast and opened the cave door with a bit of chakra.

"Come on." The Uzumaki motioned for Sai to follow some more. They both trudged up through the pitch blackness of the cave and to the other side where it led to a small pond illuminated by the fireflies and moonbeams.

The sight was truly breathtaking. Sai wanted to shed a tear in its beauty. "How did you find this place?" was the only thing that came out of Sai's mouth. Naruto smiled his cheeky grin. "When I was little, I came here to get away from the villagers. It just kinda caught my eye." Sai nodded in awe before taking a seat on the ground. If he stood any longer, he was sure that he would collapse.

"Look Sai. I really want to make it up to you and be there for our kid. I know I can't do much now that our trust isn't there but—"

"Shut up, dickless," Sai whispered as he leaned against the other's shoulder. Sai had to be honest, the boy talked too much and sometimes not for his own good. Satisfied with the silence, the two sat and watched the lake's surface as it danced to the light of the moon.

Sai awoke to the warmth and safety of his own bed. Slightly confused, he searched his memory to figure out when exactly he'd crawled into it. His thoughts flew back to the evening he had spent with the blonde. It had been one of the best days in his life. The warmth of Naruto's skin and words made him feel better than he had in a long time.

_Dammit, Sai! Get it together!_ He reminded himself of his resolve not to fall for the demon vessel.

With a sigh, the young artist walked to the bathroom and slowly stripped. He stood silently in front of the mirror as he inspected his round belly. Six months. He was six months, but he felt like a whale! Everybody else tried to convince him that he wasn't as plump as he made himself out to be (Chouji had even gone as far as to say that _he_ was plumper), but the brunet knew better.

Though the sight of his belly still struck a nerve in the teen, the warmth and movement he felt come from it so often made him endure the pitying and mocking looks he received when walking down the street. His daughter was in there. He was willing to endure anything for her.

"I love you, little one," Sai whispered and in reply received a small kick. With a smile, he turned on the shower and let the water do its job and cleanse him.

The shower lasted about 13 minutes for the teen. Afterwards, he walked into the living room and over to an empty canvas. It had been a while since he last decided to paint anything. He used to go on for hours on end, painting and painting, trying to create the perfect masterpiece. Now, he couldn't even think of a single thing to lie on the paper nor could he color a single color.

After a minute of mindlessly stroking the brush up and down the paper, inspiration hit him. He remembered seeing his little girl during the ultrasound. Slowly, his new masterpiece was starting to become clear. Within an hour, it was completed. With a smile, Sai wiped the sweat off his brow and leaned back on his stool.

"Perfect." He let out. He felt like he could stare at the picture all day. And he almost did, until he heard a knock at the door. After realizing that the person at the door wasn't going away, Sai shuffled to the front of the apartment before cautiously answering the door.

"Yes?" he asked to whoever was invading his space. It took him none but a second to see the spiky blond hair and vulpine grin in front of his face.

"Hey, Sai!" Naruto exclaimed in his obnoxiously loud voice. Sai flashed a small smile before stepping aside to let the other in.

"What are you doing up here?" Naruto asked as he walked over to the kitchen. Sai was used to guests using his kitchen as the living room. It had more seating that his living room did.

"I was painting. I hadn't done so in quite a while." Naruto's interest started to peak at the mention of Sai's art. They were always nice to look at.

"Really? Let me see!" Naruto jumped up before Sai had any time to object or even agree.

Sai lead the way to the living room and to the corner where his easel was placed. It was in a position where the light was always perfect.

"This is it." Sai motioned towards the painting. Naruto glanced at it, then back at Sai. He continued the actions for about five seconds before he finally asked, "What is it?" For some reason, the simple question felt like a fresh stab wound to Sai. How could he not know what it was?

"It's our child, Naruto." Sai clarified in a dangerously low tone. Sai wasn't sure what it was, but he felt the need to cry and yell at the man in front of him.

"What?" Naruto exclaimed. He was finding it hard to believe that that…blob was his child. There was no way!

"But it's just a blob!" Something in Sai snapped at hearing the offensive words thrown at his daughter. He took a deep breath to calm himself.

"Is it one of those abstract thingies?" Naruto asked, completely oblivious to Sai's inner struggle.

"You could call it that. Y'know, Naruto-kun, I just remembered I have a busy day ahead," Sai said as he walked towards the door. He opened it, a subtle indication that he wanted the blonde out immediately.

"Really? You sure you don't want me around?" Considering how Sai suddenly wanted him out, Naruto couldn't shake the feeling that he'd done something to piss him off.

"Yes, Naruto-kun," was Sai's terse response. Without another word, Naruto walked out of the door. Whatever Sai's deal was, it was obviously something he couldn't handle.

After Naruto left, Sai walked over to the painting and gazed at it. Stupid, oblivious dickless. Why'd he always have to ruin everything? Or maybe…this was one of those mood swings Sakura had warned him about. The artist sighed at this last thought. If he was going to patch things up with Naruto, he would have to be a little more patient…and not let those damn mood swings get to him.

"We've got a long way to go."


	9. We Got Through It And You Finally See

The wet ground felt extremely rough on Sai's feet. He wasn't sure what he was thinking when he walked out the door and started making his way to Naruto's house. His mind was still in shock from his early realization and he knew it was because of that that he couldn't think straight. It was foolish of him to rush into things, especially since he had a baby to look after inside of him now. But nothing was going to stop him now. He needed to get this feeling off his chest and he needed to now before he broke into a fit of crying and insanity.

Sai's pace was just under a jog. After muttering a curse under his breath for forgetting to wear sandals out the door he sped up in order to hurry and get out of the way of the elements. He was going to hate himself later when blisters and cuts kept him from being mobile.

By the time Sai was close to Naruto's residence, he was soaked from head to toe. His bangs stuck to his face and his clothes felt like a second layer of skin. If he didn't hurry, he was sure he'd catch a cold. With another block to go, Sai practically ran to the door of the man he fought to get to. After only a few moments of catching his breath, the frantic artist began to rapidly knock on the door, praying for a response and hoping he was still there.

Sai felt the urge to cry after a minute with no answer. Yet another useless attempt at getting the two together was thrown out of the window. Just as Sai turned to walk home, the door opened to reveal a very tired-looking blonde in nothing but his boxers and a T-shirt.

"Why are you knocking at my door in the middle of a storm?" Naruto asked, not fully realizing who the intruder was until he wiped the grogginess from his eyes. Sai released a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. Finally the door was open and Sai was lost for words, as if they had been stolen right from his mouth.

The two stared at one another, having no words to say or even any thoughts to think. After a few moments, a shiver ran through Sai's spine. He was cold. "Are you going to let me in?"

"Why are you out here at a time like this?" Naruto's voice was panicked. Sai looked everywhere but the blonde's face. He wasn't actually sure why he had decided to leave at that moment. It was the heat of the moment and for once in his life, Sai didn't think to think anything through.

"Naruto, I…" The words felt trapped in the painter's mouth. Sai lifted his head towards the sky and took a deep breath, then another when he felt that his nerves weren't going to return anytime soon.

"Sai, what are you trying to say to me?" Naruto asked in a soft tone. He knew that the other wasn't feeling up to par at that moment, so this was the best road to take instead of yelling.

"Look, Naruto, I know that we haven't been on the best of terms," Sai took a breath. He was still out of it from foolishly running all the way here, "but I also know that I have been making it difficult for us to make amends too." Naruto raised an eyebrow. To tell the truth, he hadn't understood a thing the other was trying to explain to him. All he knew was that Sai was trying to tell him something important.

"I want to get past that. I want to stop being so scared to progress," the painter explained while trying very hard not to stutter. He was freezing his ass off and he was a bit nervous, though he didn't want to admit it.

Thought Naruto didn't understand as well as he should have about the situation, he nodded and comforted his friend anyway. He might as well let the other get it off his chest. Stress wouldn't be good for Sai in his state.

"C'mon. Let's get you a shower and something dry to wear. You look like you're about to become an icicle." Naruto slowly readjusted himself and Sai so they could walk side to side to the bathroom. Once there, Naruto turned the water to a suitable temperature and then walked to his room to find something the teen could wear once he warmed up. Sai nodded his thanks before closing the door and stripping. He sighed quietly before stepping into the shower and letting the warm water provide him with heat. It felt good to finally get out of those wet clothes.

After a few minutes of mindlessly soaking in the heat of the water, Sai decided to get out. He dried and combed his hair, taking his sweet time, for the blonde still hadn't come back with his clothes yet. It wasn't long until he started to hear faint voices coming from the living room. One, he was sure, was Naruto's. The other, he wasn't too sure of, but it sounded very childish.

Time seemed to slow whenever you needed it to speed up and Sai was growing impatient of the blonde. He grabbed a towel from the rack and wrapped it around his body like a woman would have only because he was slightly self-conscious about his protruding belly.

As soon as Sai opened the door, he could hear the conversation being carried out by Naruto and the other person.

"Nii-chan! Come on! You said you'd help me with my training!" From what Sai could tell, it was a younger male that Naruto was talking to.

"Look! It's raining and I've been very busy. As a matter of fact, I'm busy now!"

A growl-like noise came from the other. "What do you mean? How are you busy? There nothing here but you and a bunch of old ramen cups!" Sai had to agree with the boy. There was a lot of mess in this home. Sai found this to a good moment to interrupt seeing as the two were unexplainably silent.

"Um, Naruto?" Sai intervened with a raspy voice. The two turned to see Sai standing there with nothing but a towel and a hair-tie on. Konohamaru gaped at the man and asked very curiously, "Nii-chan? Who is this woman?"

Silence was the only thing left between the three once the words had left young one's mouth. Two faces filled with shock and the last with confusion. Having had enough of being called a girl, Sai walked over to the "confused" boy and was ready to slap him when Naruto grabbed his hand and stopped him.

"Sai! Don't." Naruto whispered in a harsh tone. Sai simply pulled his hand away from the deadly grip before taking a deep breath and asking where his clothes were. Konohamaru was in awe. Sai's voice was nothing like a woman's, and he didn't have any tits.

"Oh! Oh…ah…haha, I'm sorry!" Konohamaru said before attempting to make an exit. He would have gone unnoticed too if he would have stopped laughing nervously. Naruto shooed the Genin out as he walked into his room to find the artist his clothing.

"What took you so long?" Sai asked, though could guess why.

"I was talking to Konohamaru. He was bugging me about some training and crap," Naruto said as he pulled out a T-shirt and placed it on the bed. Sai grabbed the shirt and began to dress himself piece by piece. Once Naruto pulled out a pair of clean underwear and a pair of sweats, Sai placed them on his body and sat down on his bed. Surprisingly enough, this room wasn't as messy as the rest of the apartment.

"Well, since you're all set,"—Naruto took a glance out of the window—"and it's still raining, do you want to…I don't know…lay down or something?" Sai shrugged his shoulders simply because he was not in the mood to do anything else. For some strange reason, he wanted to snuggle with the blonde. Sai may not have been an expert on the norm, but he knew that snuggling was not something you did unless you were in a relationship. And he and Naruto were not in a relationship.

"Maybe we could…play a game." Naruto suggested. For once, it wasn't a stupid idea like many others in the past.

"What do you have in mind?" Sai replied after a moment of silence. Naruto placed a hand on his chin as he thought._What would be a nice game to play?_He pondered this for the next two minutes. "I don't know. What do you like?"

Sai looked at him quizzically. "I've never really played any games before, except for survival ones."

Naruto was the one who gave the look this time. "You've never—" he cut himself off. He had to remember that Sai was practically born and raised a ROOT member. Having a normal life was something still very new to the artist.

"Never mind. So besides never playing a game that was supposed to be fun, what have you never done?"

Sai took a few minutes to think on the question. "There is a lot that I have not experienced. I've never snuck out, drank…seen a television, eaten a pomegranate…there are so many." Sai finally gave up. If he were to name all of things in the world he'd never done, his daughter would be at the age of two.

"Yeah, that is a lot." Naruto added. Sai looked at the blonde's face and could tell that he was disappointed at the answer he received. It hurt Sai that he wasn't able to satisfy Naruto's need, though he didn't know why.

"But I can name most of things that I have done since the pregnancy." Sai interjected. Naruto gazed in Sai's direction. "Go for it."

"Well, I have experienced confusion, pain, happiness, anger, awe, endless hunger, cramps, more confusion…and love." Naruto's interest sparked at the last two words. As if Sai knew the unasked question, Sai answered it with little hesitation.

"I learned to love the baby of course. I've also took notice of a love that always comes back to me no matter how much I try to throw it away."

"Who do you share that with?" Naruto asked, curiosity in his voice with a hint of jealousy and…hope?

Sai disregarded his interpretation of the boy's tone and spoke. "I shared it with someone very special in my life." He looked into Naruto's eyes for a brief moment before continued. "I feel for you." Sai's voice faded into a whisper when he neared the end.

It took less than a minute for Naruto to register what Sai had confessed to him. Cerulean eyes widened. "Sai, is that true?"

Sai, not sure of how the blonde would react, sat waiting, even facing the wall in case the blonde felt to urge to hit him. It had happened many times before when he insulted Sakura or Naruto. They would simply knock his lights out and leave him until he came to.

The silence became entirely too overwhelming for the painter. He watched the wall as he stood and began to make his way to the other room when a gentle hand was laid on his wrist.

"Sai," Naruto whispered, he slowly pulled on the brunet's arm until the other was practically sitting in his lap.

"Naruto, you don't have to feel obligated—" The brunet never got to finish his sentence as Naruto's lips softly collided with his own. The feeling was so foreign to Sai. He wasn't even sure what to do next. Their lips remained glued to each other for a moment longer, before Naruto slowly took them apart.

"Naruto…" No thoughts of Sai's could reach his lips. He wanted to ask the blonde why and when, but again, no sound could come out of his mouth.

"You don't have to say anything. I want to learn to love you too, and not just for the baby's sake."

Sai felt like magic was just cast on his heart. His face only showed the emotion of mild shock, but his mind and heart were in heaven. Sai thought it would have been years before those words would have ever been uttered in his direction. But he quickly pulled himself down from his euphoria. He had to remember the key word "learn." That meant that the blonde wasn't quite there yet.

"Thank you." Sai muttered. He truly felt that the gods of this land wanted him to be happy after all that he had suffered. He just hoped the gods decided to stay on his side for a little bit longer.

The next morning, Naruto remembered at the last minute an important meeting that he needed to attend if he had any hopes of making it into the Jounin ranks. Sai on the other hand wasn't busy and decided to stick around Naruto's apartment and clean up this mess the jinchuuriki called home.

It had taken him hours to clean it all. But after the dishwashing, clothes washing, bathroom scrubbing and floor mopping, the place was finally clean. By that time, Sai was exhausted. Being pregnant and cleaning the dickless' apartment could really do that to you.

Sai settled for sitting on the blonde's couch, which had also been cleaned, and thinking of his baby girl. He wondered who she would take after the most. Would she have eyes like the ocean and hair like the night sky? Or would she have eyes as black as coal and hair as warm as the rays of the sun? So many ways their daughter could appear and yet Sai couldn't grasp any of them. He couldn't wait to find out.

Then again, a little more time wouldn't do any harm. Both he and Naruto still had to prepare things, like a crib and a changing table, the bassinette and diapers. They haven't even discussed when or where they'd set it all up. Would it be here, or at Sai's house? Or would they have to move into a bigger place altogether?

Sai push the thoughts from his head. Though the time grew close to start to worry about these things, it would do him no good to worry about it without Naruto here to discuss it with.

"Sai! Are you still here?" A voice called from the entrance. Sai assumed it was Naruto, after all, who else would come here calling for him and not Naruto? Sai answered "yes" as loud as he could while still using a decent indoor voice. Naruto yelled back an "ok" before walking in and admiring the now clean living space.

"Wow! Sai, did you do all this?" Naruto's gaze flew from one corner to another. The apartment looked so different now that the floor and countertops were visible. Everything was practically sparkling.

"Yeah, I was bored and this place was a…pigsty? Is that what people usually call it?" Naruto nodded dazedly before walking around and taking in more of his tidied apartment.

Sai couldn't help but smile at the astonished look on the jinchuuriki's face. He felt good that he was able to make his blonde happy, even if it was just a little. The artist pushed himself to his feet and over to the direction he was sure the blonde had gone in.

"Do you really like the way I cleaned the place?" Sai asked. Naruto nodded before he turned to face Sai, giving him a big grin and saying a simple set of words that made Sai's heart flutter.

"Thanks, Sai. It means a lot though it seems so little." A hint of pink made its way up to the painter's face. Something about the way Naruto said his line made Sai's knees weak. Everything felt too surreal. Sai hurried to find something to distract both himself from Naruto and Naruto from distracting him.

"Naruto, we haven't discussed the baby lately."

Naruto's face brightened in realization. "Why haven't, have we?" Sai nodded as he turned to walk to Naruto's bed room to hold the discussion. Sai was tired and he might as well have been comfortable in a bed than standing or sitting upright in a chair.

Sai wasted no time in climbing into Naruto's bed. It was surprisingly comfortable and didn't make his spine hurt like other mattresses did. When he lay in the bed, he felt like he was sleeping on a cloud. No wonder it took then forever to wake the blonde whenever they (Sakura and Sai) came over to wake the knucklehead.

Naruto walked in the room and climbed into his bed next to Sai. He could feel the other tense for a millisecond, but he soon relaxed to the feeling of Naruto's chest on his back. It felt nice to have Sai trust him again. It made him feel like the protector he was supposed to be.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Naruto asked after a minute of pure silence. Sai shifted a little to make himself comfortable.

"What are we going to do once the baby is here? Where are we going to stay? Here or at my apartment? Do you think we'll need to find a bigger and safer place? What about necessities for the baby? When can we go get them?" Naruto chuckled at the other's worry. He was worried too of course, but he wasn't quite where Sai was.

"Um, well, I guess we'll have to find the safest place to house the little tyke. And about the things he's going to need, we'll just get them whenever you want to go." Naruto finished only to hear snickering from the other teen.

"What's so funny?" Naruto lifted his head to try and see the face Sai was making, but it was just out of his view.

"It's a girl."

Naruto gasped. "Really?" He went all of this time thinking he was going to have a son. But maybe having a girl wouldn't be that bad. He'd get to protect her from all of those perverts…like Konohamaru. "That'd be nice," he whispered out loud as he slowly faded in sleep. The fatigue from a long day's work finally caught up to him.

Sai smiled when he heard the soft snores coming from behind him. It was reassuring that Naruto would always be there. He knew in his heart that the dickless would man up one day. And he was sure that today was the day.

By the time morning had come, both Naruto and Sai were well rested. Sai was the first to wake due to the baby's restlessness. Sometimes the teen wondered if she was doing aerobics in there, but then he'd have to be stupid to think his belly could also house a television and a DVD player.

Sai shifted to face the blonde, his stomach against the other's. Naruto must have noticed for he woke as soon as the baby started to kick again. His eyes averted to the source of the disruption of his sleep and noticed the baby was moving inside Sai's stomach. His face must have been hilarious because Sai started to laugh at Naruto's reaction.

"Is that her?" Naruto asked in a hushed voice, as if afraid he would scare her if he spoke any louder. Sai nodded as he brought Naruto's hand in between them. She kicked as soon as Naruto's warmth joined the center of the two's stomachs. Sai saw the most the most precious scene in front of him at moment. Naruto was practically holding their child in his hand with the brightest and proudest grin plastered on his face. It was a sight to remember.

"I can't wait any longer," Naruto muttered. Sai nodded and whispered a yes. He couldn't wait to see her either.

"What do you mean?" Naruto exclaimed, slamming his hand on the Hokage's desk. This was unbelievable. And unbearable.

"You heard me correctly the first time. You are to go on a month long mission."

Naruto clinched his teeth together and began to softly growl. No way was he going to be separated from Sai when their connection was just beginning to grow strong.

"I won't." Naruto bit out. The response surprised everyone in the room, including the Hokage herself.

Tsunade stared at the blonde as if he had grown another head. "You don't have much of a choice," she replied, crossing her arms over her busty chest to signal this wasn't an argument. Clearly, Naruto didn't get the gesture, or simply chose to ignore it altogether.

"No, I can't go. Not now. I just started to earn Sai's trust and I'm not going to let another mission ruin that. I want to be here for the rest of his pregnancy." Naruto's eyes showed his determination and stubbornness in one glance. He wasn't going to budge and that was the end of it.

"And here I though you would want to go. It has to do with Sasuke."

Naruto faltered at hearing that name. "Sasuke?" He almost whispered. Tsunade nodded. Her expression was serious, showing that she wasn't playing a mind game with the boy.

"Naruto…" Chouji's voice from behind trailed off. Naruto inwardly growled at the name of that teme, his first friend and source of most of his heartaches. He shouldn't have had a problem making this decision, but it was so damn hard to just give up on both.

His mind told him to go after the bastard. But his heart told him to stay and take care of both his mate and unborn kit.

_What should I do_? He suddenly wished he hadn't asked himself this because that damned fox heard it and started to laugh.

**What do you think you should do? Stay here. Your mate has already suffered much. He doesn't need you to leave him once again, especially for that snake whore.**

Naruto couldn't help but see the light in the fox's words and for once agreed with the damned demon.

"I still can't leave. I have to stay here with Sai and my daughter. I was stupid for leaving them before, and I won't leave them again. " Naruto's determined gaze returned. He wouldn't leave. Not even to fulfill his long term promise to Sakura and himself. He had new priorities and they came first.

With a heavy sigh, Tsunade leaned back in her chair and waved her hand as an informal way of dismissing the blonde. "Fine, do as you please. I'll just have Lee take your place." She sounded unwilling, but it was clear to Naruto that his message really got to her.

"Thank you, baa-chan." Naruto said as he turned to walk out of the office. Shizune turned to stare at the Hokage, unsure as to why she let the blonde go that easy. Were he any other ninja, she would have forced him out the village in a matter of seconds.

"I guess he just reminds me too much of Nawaki. Whether that is a good or bad thing, I'm not sure."

Shizune's eyes softened when she saw a sad smile on her master's face.

_I hope he does well. For Tsunade-sama_.

Sai decided that he would spend the day with Sakura, Hinata, Hanabi and a reluctant Neji at the mall. The girls wanted to go clothes shopping for themselves and the baby. Hanabi begged to go, which forced Neji to follow since he was responsible for Hanabi that day.

"AWW!" Sakura squealed as she picked up a little baby shirt that said, "Daddy's little girl." Neji rolled his eyes as the girls all crowded around to admire the shirt. Sai simply ignored them as he stood around. Why bother saying anything if they would only insist on buying it anyway? Besides, he would take anything that was free.

"You look well."

Neji turned to face Sai after the other finished his statement. He knew the other was being sarcastic and had half a mind to throw something nasty back his way. "I'm not in the best of moods, no. But I have no choice but to deal with it," he muttered at the other male in the group. Sai raised an eyebrow before asking for greater detail.

"Hiashi-oji-san is still forcing me to marry some woman I have no knowledge of. I don't want to. My heart belongs to someone else." Neji looked down as he spoke, not looking like the proud Hyuuga he was known to be. Neji seemed pained and it almost pained Sai to see him that way.

"Who is this person that your heart belongs to?" Sai asked. Neji turned to face Sai, then he turned away to conceal an uncharacteristic blush.

"Shikamaru."

Sai wasn't surprised. The pale-eyed man practically drooled every time Mr. Deer walked into the room. Sai smiled at the nervous Hyuuga before laying a hand on his shoulder. Neji turned to look at the man who was touching him.

"Don't worry. I can guarantee you that everything will work out." Sai spoke from personal experience. His situation with Naruto might not have been quite the same, but he knew that when you hoped hard enough, things could happen.

"I hope so…" The pearl-eyed man wished. Sai nodded before turning to walk towards the ravaging women. One look at the shopping cart and Sai was happy that he wasn't the one paying for all of this. It would have cost anyone a fortune.

"Come on Neji, let's stop them before they break themselves." Neji agreed and walked over to Sai and the shopaholics. Neji watched them throw almost everything in the carts and was glad he wasn't the cashier.


	10. Our Nightly Visions, Became Genuine Joy

The time just seemed to flow. Before long, Sai found himself in his ninth month. Things had been going well for Naruto and him. They had bought a house near a quiet part of town. Not much of a view, but it was better than most of the places they had seen.

Sai awoke to a kick to his bladder. Sai would have smiled at his daughter's energy if the kick hadn't hurt so badly. Having to use the bathroom now, Sai left the comfort of his bed and walked—more like waddled—to the bathroom to relieve himself.

After finishing, he walked to the small beige kitchen to make breakfast for himself and Naruto. It was a small breakfast, but it would suffice. The painter set the table and went to go find his companion, worried as to why he hadn't rushed to the table like he usually did. After searching the bedroom, bathroom, living room and basement, Sai worriedly checked the backyard.

The backyard wasn't very spacious, but it was comfortable and private. The fences had been recently put up and the grass was a healthy green. Sai walked through the sliding doors and over into the grass. He checked to corner to corner for the blonde, but he couldn't be spotted anywhere. He only stopped worrying when he felt the boy's strong arms wrap around his round stomach. With a sigh of relief, Sai turned to face the blond who not too long ago had him in a state of panic.

"Where were you?" Sai asked, his eyebrow lifted in confusion. Naruto smiled. Sai was almost acting like he once did before the incident, almost being the key word. He still had the temperament of a pregnant woman and the protective instinct of one too.

"I was picking up something for the house. Sorry, should've left a note." Sai nodded in agreement before walking back in to the house with the blonde in tow. Both sat and ate in a comfortable silence. This was how most of the meals in the house went, unless Naruto had an interesting story to tell.

"Sai, I have something I need to show you after breakfast. Okay?"

Sai looked up from his food and nodded briefly. It was rare of Naruto to be so serious, but Sai knew that when the jinchuuriki was, he meant business. Thinking of what Naruto wanted to show him made Sai think of something else they've been neglecting to talk about.

"Naruto, what are we going to name her? Our daughter," Sai asked after swallowing a mouthful of orange juice. Sai made a mental note not to bring up important things when the blonde was eating, for the sight of Naruto half choking before him was not a pleasant one.

"Names? How could I have forgotten!" Naruto exclaimed after coming back from his coughing fit. The two sat in silence once again, but this time in thought. What were they going to name her? The thinking lasted through the whole breakfast period. They both decided that they would continue to think the rest of the day. Inspiration hit when you least expected it to.

After breakfast, Naruto, like he proposed, led Sai to into the other room. He motioned for Sai to sit while he walked into the next room to retrieve what he wanted to show the other. Sai waited patiently, not entirely sure as to what the other wanted to show him. A few moments went by and Naruto came back into the room with a bag in his hand. Naruto motioned for Sai to take the bag, which he did.

"What is this?" Sai asked. His only response was a nudge and a smile. Sai couldn't help but muster a small smile at the shy yet excited look on the blonde's face. The artist reached into the bag and pulled out what looked to be a picture book. He felt sort of disappointed. The way Naruto was acting made him feel like he should have expected the gift of his life.

"Open it," Naruto said. Sai looked up at the blonde before he turned to look at the book. Hesitantly, he opened the giant bag book to the first page. It was a drawing of their first meeting on a rooftop. Sai could tell Naruto had drawn it himself. The lack of detail and the horrible illustrations made Sai want to laugh, but he held it in.

"Go on," Naruto encouraged. Sai smiled back at him before he slowly turned the page. It was then he realized the book was not random at all. It was a book about their experiences over the last year.

"Naruto, why are—" Naruto cut him off with a finger to his mouth and a hand gesture telling him to read further. Sai's expression turned to one of worry. He wasn't sure what Naruto was trying to say or do. With a sigh, the brunet turned the page and was faced with a picture of his horrified self and a flaming kitsune trying to attack him. It was then Sai realized what the drawing was: the first time he'd been raped by Kyuubi. It was a memory he'd rather not have remembered, but Naruto urged him on.

The next page of the book showed them at the inn after the second incident. Sai was in one corner looking just as scared as the previous picture and Naruto was in the other corner looking confused and sad. The artist raised an eyebrow at the picture. A broken heart was placed over Sai's figure while a worn piece of rope was placed over Naruto, symbolizing his broken bond. The picture made Sai feel sort of sad, and yet somewhat relieved that he wasn't the only one who felt so horrible that night.

Sai turned the page. The page displayed a painting of Sai telling Naruto he was pregnant and Naruto feeling angry. In a thought bubble over the blonde's head, it showed what he was really feeling: confusion, anger and…guilt? Sai was slightly taken back by the raw emotion placed inside of the picture. But it was nice to see them. It gave Sai a different perspective of the earlier Naruto.

The next page was about the time Naruto spent on his mission. How he'd come across so many children and expecting mothers and fathers. How he felt about leaving Sai for those three months and how guilty he had been for burdening Sai with a child. But it also showed Sai how happy he was about becoming a father. Sai had to smile at the cheeky grin Naruto had drawn on his character.

The next pictured showed the two making up and being what they were presently. But that Naruto didn't seem too happy. Sai looked up at the real Naruto with a puzzled expression. Once again, his only clue was a wave to move forward. Sai rolled his eyes and turned the page. He almost dropped the book when he looked at the next page. Taped to the page was a diamond band.

"Sai," Naruto began, getting down on one knee as he peeled the ring from the page, "will you marry me?"

Sai's eyes started to water, but the artist still nodded vigorously, for no words would form in his mouth. He was so…happy? Naruto simply smiled and leaned forward to slip the ring onto Sai's slender finger before moving to hug the fragile-looking boy.

"I promise you, Sai, you won't regret it." Naruto smiled even more when he heard his artist whisper a soft, "you don't need to promise. I already know…"

"Hey Sai, Naruto, are you there?" A bubbly voice called from the other side of the door. The strawberry blonde female stared questioningly at the door before deciding to knock once more on the maroon colored wood. After waiting patiently for about three minutes, the medic sighed and prepared to turn around when the door suddenly flew open. A happier than usual blonde answered the door with an unbelievably large grin on his face. Sakura was about to question the look when she was bombarded by the other blonde with the tightest bear hug she had ever received.

"Sakura-chaaaaaaaaaan!" Naruto practically squealed at the top of his lungs as he twirled her in the air. Now becoming a little dizzy, the medic connected a fist to the idiot's head and caught herself before she fell, for the blonde had lost his balance and almost dropped her flat on her bottom.

"Naruto, what with you?" she asked, feeling a little agitated for no apparent reason.

"I did it! Oh, yes I did it!" She wasn't sure why, but the statement sounded perverted in her ears.

"And what did you do?" She asked slowly though her question did nothing to faze Naruto's bubbly mood.

"I proposed to Sai and he said yes!" He did a little jig before motioning for Sakura to come inside. The pink-haired girl couldn't help but smile and stare at Naruto awkwardly while making her way into the house. She often visited their residence when she had the time, so the place had almost become a second home to her.

"So how did he react when he asked?" Sakura questioned as she sat down on the couch. Naruto poked his head out from the kitchen and over in Sakura's direction as he replied.

"He was shocked then he seemed really happy. I know I was!" He returned his attention to the kitchen as he prepared some tea. If he had still been back at his apartment, he would have never attempted such a thing, but he wasn't anymore. Sai had taught him that making tea for a guest, no matter how often they came around, was the proper thing to do. Naruto saw no point in it, but it made Sai happy when he did things by the book.

Sakura turned her attention to the paintings that surrounded the room. It seemed that there was a new addition every time she entered the two's home. There were paintings of everything from things as simple as flowers to things as complicated as paintings with a secret political message in them that Sai of course had to explain to her.

"Hey Sakura-chan, is there anything you'd like with your tea?" Naruto voice boomed from kitchen. The medic-nin turned her attention to the blonde and replied, "Sure, a pastry would be nice."

Sai sat up as he rubbed the grogginess from his eyes. His nap proved useful as didn't feel as tired as he had before. He quickly stretched and walked to the hallway and over to the living room where he saw Sakura and Naruto talking about Kami knows what.

"Good afternoon," Sai greeted as he staggered in the space and over to the recliner. Usually, he'd avoid such a comfortable thing out of the fear of not being able to get back up once he'd gotten too relaxed.

"Afternoon," Sakura and Naruto replied. Sai turned to face the kitchen and then the walls. He liked to look at the works of art he created now and then. Sometimes they gave him inspiration for his next painting.

"So what were you two talking about?" Sai queried. Naruto replied, saying they talked about their engagement. Sakura nodded in agreement then gave her congratulations.

"So Sakura-san, was there a reason you stopped by today?" Sai asked. It wasn't unusual for her to stop by, but the visit seemed rather different today.

"Um…there was…Oh, yes. Neji and Shikamaru have gone missing. They haven't left the village but no one can seem to find them."

Naruto's eyes widened with shock while Sai's brows scrunched in confusion. "I don't understand. Did they run away together?" Sai asked. He'd been wondering how things went since he'd first talked to the Hyuuga about his crush.

"How is it that you know these things, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked after being informed about the current gossip.

"You'd be surprised how much you learn when you work at a hospital. Gossip central number two." Sai raised an eyebrow. "Number two?" Sakura nodded. "Number one is the shopping district."

"I'm not surprised, Sakura-chan. You and Ino probably yak it up when you guys get together."

Sakura made of a face of mock hurt and turned her face as if she was insulted. "Well I never!"

"You have now."

"Hmph." Sakura glanced at the clock as she continued to play insulted and realized that it was time for her to leave and start her rounds at the hospital.

"Well, I love to hang out with you guys but I gotta go. See ya."

"Bye," the two bade as their teammate waved and left, shutting the door behind her. Sai turned to Naruto and smiled. Naruto smiled back before rising from the couch and walking to the kitchen after giving his beloved a quick kiss.

"Hey, is there anything you wanna eat?" Naruto inquired as he searched the fridge for something to cook.

"Nothing in particular." Sai rose from his chair with quite some difficulty. He went to the kitchen and leaned against the counter as Naruto dug around for some food to eat.

Sai stared over towards the boy. He truly felt happy though his face sometimes never showed it. This was a dream come true. A year ago, Sai would have never imagined that he'd actually end up with the man he had a crush on since they had meet in a battle, with him questioning what the blonde had between his legs.

Sai was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice his beloved walk over to him and caress his face.

"Yes?" Sai said, now back in reality. Naruto smiled sweetly and sadly before moving to place a kiss on Sai's lips. Sai relaxed against Naruto's soft touch and returned the kiss as softly as the other was delivering. Naruto was the one to break the kiss after a few moments of contact.

"You worry too much," Naruto said, breathless. Sai's eyes averted to the floor. He wasn't sure why he was feeling this way so suddenly. He wanted to blame it on the pregnancy, but he knew deep down it was more than that.

"Naruto, do you really love me, or is this all for the baby?" If the jinchuuriki was only here out of obligation, then he wanted to know. Sai didn't want to tie him down if that was the case.

Naruto took a step back from Sai to examine his downcast face. The artist's emotions were well hidden, but Naruto could feel the other's raw fear and confusion. The blonde sighed then went to embrace Sai.

"I'm not sure about this feeling, but I'm pretty sure I can call it love. I'm not marrying you because of the baby. I'm doing it because something inside wants to. Needs to. And I want to prove it to you." Naruto said, pulling back to stare in Sai's eyes as he muttered the last few words. Sai looked back with unsure eyes before Naruto moved to place his lips upon his.

Sai's eyes slowly drifted close as Naruto asked silently with his tongue for access through the other's lips. The painter moaned lightly against Naruto's lips before giving Naruto the access he wanted. Their tongues danced for as long as they could hold their breaths.

The two pulled away and stared into each other's eye, huffing to catch their breaths before they slammed their lips together once more. Naruto's hands moved to caress Sai's body, placing them on Sai's waist and moving him closer to deepen the kiss.

Sai gasped and moaned. He could feel his pants grow tighter though the man before him hadn't even brushed against his sensitive area. Naruto noticed. He smirked into the kiss as he lowered his hand and placed it over Sai's hardening member. Sai gasped and moaned as he melted into the touch. He had never been touched like this before. Not willingly at least.

Naruto detached himself from Sai's lips and traveled southward, stopping at the boy's neck to kiss and suck on it, leaving his mark as he went moved onward. With his hand, Naruto lift Sai's shirt and began to play mercilessly with his nipples. He bit and nipped on them until he heard Sai moan and cry for him to stop teasing.

"N-Naruto…I f-feel w-weird…" Sai managed to utter through ragged breaths. Naruto looked up and smiled. He felt aroused by looking at the expression on Sai's face. He looked so full of need. So full of lust.

Naruto stood at his full height, grabbed Sai and began leading him to their bedroom. If they were going to get it on, Naruto wanted to make sure they were comfortable.

"Naruto…"Sai whispered. Naruto nodded and sat on the bed, pulling his lover down with him and resumed to kiss him violently. Sai fell into Naruto's lap and gasped when Naruto began to grind their growing erections together. They were both so excited. They could barely contain themselves.

"Please, Naruto. More," Sai whimpered once he pulled away for air. Naruto gladly granted his wish. He began to unbutton the artist's pants and pull them as far as he could in their position. Tan fingers began to massage the pale one's member through his underpants, making the other moan and squirm wildly above him.

"I'll give you as much as you need."

The two laid in the sheets stained with the results of their lovemaking. Sai rested peacefully in his sleeping lover's arms. He himself couldn't fall asleep and settled instead with watching the stars in the night sky. They burned brightly along with the moon. Sai smiled as he remembered the days he used to just stare at them for hours on end. The glowing orbs in the sky used to make him feel happy when he was sad, full when he was empty.

"Now I always feel full," Sai whispered to himself. He subconsciously brought his hand to his stomach. It was warm and he could feel the baby becoming restless. It was comforting and…it was starting to hurt just a bit.

No. A lot.

Sai felt a sharp pain run through his lower body. He inhaled quickly and groaned from the pain. It hurt so much. Sai used a lot of his strength to sit up and then turned towards Naruto to wake him. Just as he placed a hand on Naruto's arm to shake him, another sharp pain erupted from his pelvic area, causing him to grip a lot harder than he intended.

"OW!" Naruto shot up and turned to look at Sai. He was seconds away from complaining when he saw the pained expression on Sai's face and his hand gripping the bed sheet on his torso.

"Sai, what's wrong? Are you okay?" He asked. Sai gritted his teeth and tightened his eyes as he felt another piercing ache run through him.

"P-please…go get Sakura-san." Sai managed to word after a long struggle with his voice. Naruto nodded quickly before throwing on some clothes and poofing out of the room. Sai groaned once more before he stood shakily and removed the blankets and sheets from the bed. He didn't want Sakura to see the aftermath of his and Naruto's night. After setting them in the laundry basket, he walked cautiously to the hallway closet to retrieve more, but had another contraction in the process. Sai leaned wearily against the wall and hissed through his teeth.

This was an entirely different pain than he'd experienced, more painful than any of them put together. It was horrible.

"Sai!"

"Sai!"

He heard the voices of Sakura and Naruto. He wanted to smile to greet the two, but he couldn't. Sakura was the first to reach Sai in the hall. She looked worried, but she also held the look of a professional, which reassured Sai.

"Alright Sai, we need to get you in the bed."

He nodded and turned to Naruto who was helping him stand and walk.

Once the three entered the room, Naruto set Sai on the bed and turned to Sakura for further instruction. Sakura used some chakra to locate the baby's head and determine her next step. After a few moments, she nodded to herself and turned towards Naruto.

"Get me some towels and hot water. The baby is almost here, so make it as fast as you can." Her voice was stern and commanding, just like Tsunade's when the woman was actually serious.

"Right." Naruto rushed out of the room and into the kitchen. Sakura turned to Sai before grabbing some gloves form her bag and placing them on her hands. Sai groaned and brought his hands up to his face to wipe the tears from the corners of his eyes. It hurt like a bitch. That was the only way Sai could describe the feeling.

"Sai, I need you to open your legs."

Sai blushed slightly at the request and Sakura remained impassive. Sai shakily opened his legs and covered his face again when he felt another contraction rip through his body. The boy began to whimper as he felt the pain intensify with every time it struck.

"Start pushing now."

Sai began to as soon as the words left her mouth. It was then that Naruto came back in with the supplies Sakura had asked for earlier.

"Thanks. Now go wait downstairs."

Naruto looked insulted. "No, I want to be here with Sai."

Sakura looked unconvinced and shook her head. "No, you need to go downstairs. I can't have you here." Naruto looked ready to argue again when Sai attempted a reassuring smile then groaned because of the pain. With a sigh, Naruto turned to walk out the door after whispering an "I love you."

"Alright Sai, now push."

What were only minutes felt like hours to Naruto. He paced back and forth in the living room, awaiting the birth of his daughter. He couldn't wait, he just couldn't.

Suddenly the Sai's screams and Sakura's encouragement ceased and Naruto became worried until he heard a baby's cry come from the floor above. He rushed into the room in a matter of seconds and was blessed with the sight of a beautiful baby girl with black hair. He couldn't see her eyes as they were scrunched from her crying. Sakura smiled at him and wiped the remainder of amniotic fluid from the baby's head before handing her to Sai.

"She's beautiful," Naruto whispered as he sat next to Sai on the bed and stared in awe at his newborn daughter. She was a gem.

Sai nodded. He felt exhausted. He looked it too. His face was pink and his eyes just as rosy. His hair was a damp mess and his lips looked swollen from biting on them. But Naruto disregarded that because he was grateful that Sai delivered his child. He was just so happy. "Have you decided on a name?"

Sai nodded. "Hoshiko."

"Hoshiko…" Naruto repeated, letting the name roll over his tongue. "I like it."

Sai gave a tired smile, happy that Naruto loved his choice. "Look, she has your eyes," Sai mumbled when he saw their daughter open her eyes and glance at her father. Her crystal clear orbs stared curiously at him before she quickly closed them and fell back into a light slumber.

Sakura smiled and looked at the family from her position on the edge of the bed. They looked so happy and made her feel like having a child of her own with the one she loved. She giggled slightly before collecting her tools and walking through the door. She decided to give her friends some time alone.

Once outside, she glanced back once more before walking back to the hospital, thinking back to the painting Sai had shown her months earlier, the one with the star representing his child.

She smiled gently.

"Star child, eh?"

"Hoshiko! Get that out your mouth!" Naruto squawked at the barely crawling baby. She turned as best as she could when she heard her name but resumed trying to chew the leg of the table. Sai smiled before walking over and lifting his baby girl into the air. Her face twisted in anger before she squealed in delight from seeing her favorite plaything: her mother's hair. Sai grimaced when Hoshiko started to pull at it, but at least she wasn't chewing on the wood anymore.

"Man, she's really a handful!" Naruto said. He fell dramatically from his sitting position to a laying one. Sai nodded before placing Hoshiko in her highchair so he could feed her.

"But I wouldn't give her up for the world." Sai added.

Naruto pulled himself back into his previous pose and smiled to himself. "I don't know about that…" he joked and laughed when Sai gave him a playful glare. He continued to laugh until he felt some oatmeal connect with the side of his face. Sai stared in shock at Hoshiko as she giggled and went back to eating her oatmeal.

"Hmph." Naruto huffed as he wiped the food from his cheeks. "She's definitely your kid," he deadpanned, remembering an incident where Sai was in his eighth month and had thrown a cup of ink at him during one of his mood swings. It had dumped all over his head and it had taken every ounce of the blonde's self-control to keep from blowing up at Sai.

The painter just smirked and threw a pair of socks the blonde's way. "Say that when she develops a taste for ramen."

_Epilogue_

_Naruto and Sai were finally settling into family life with their daughter Hoshiko. But their life would be shaken up by what happened next:_

_Sasuke returned, unaware that his blond rival had moved on and started a family with none other than the one sent to replace and assassinate him._

_But that's another story._


End file.
